GIFT   OF 
A.    * ,    Morrison 


American 


EDITED   BY 


JOHN  T.  MORSE,  JR. 


Stmcritan  4>tatcgmcn 


PATRICK    HENRY 


BY 


MOSES  COIT  TYLEft 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORlt 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 


1894 


E: 


•    Copjirig4t,'l8$7,'..' 
•MO&E&  COIff  TYLEU.  ,  • . 


"  AU  rights  reserved. 

GIFT  OP 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Afass.,  U.  S.  A, 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  H.  0.  Hough  ton  &  Company. 


E30 


PREFACE. 


IN  this  book,  I  have  tri^d  to  embody  the  chief  re 
sults  derived  from  a  study  of  all  the  materials  known 
to  me,  in  print  and  in  manuscript,  relating  to  Patrick 
Henry,  —  many  of  these  materials  being  now  used  for 
the  first  time  in  any  formal  presentation  of  his  life. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  popular  interest  attach 
ing  to  the  name  of  Patrick  Henry,  he  has  hitherto 
been  the  subject  of  but  one  memoir  founded  on  ori 
ginal  investigation,  and  that,  of  course,  is  the  Life  by 
William  Wirt.  When  it  is  considered,  however,  that 
Wirt's  book  was  finished  as  long  ago  as  the  year 
1817, — before  the  time  had  fairly  come  for  the  pub 
lication  of  the  correspondence,  diaries,  personal  memo 
randa,  and  official  records  of  every  sort,  illustrating 
the  great  period  covered  by  Patrick  Henry's  career,  — 
it  will  be  easy  to  infer  something  as  to  the  quantity 
and  the  value  of  those  printed  materials  bearing  upon 
the  subject,  which  are  now  to  be  had  by  us,  but  which 
were  not  within  the  reach  of  Wirt.  Accordingly,  in  his 
lack  of  much  of  the  detailed  testimony  that  then  lay 
buried  in  inaccessible  documents,  Wirt  had  to  trust 

M107317 


Vi  PREFACE. 

largely  to  the  somewhat  imaginative  traditions  concern, 
ing  Patrick  Henry,  which  he  found  floating  in  the  air 
of  Virginia  ;  and  especially  to  the  supposed  recollec 
tions  of  old  people,  —  recollections  which,  in  this  case, 
were  nearly  always  vague,  not  always  disinterested, 
often  inaccurate,  and  generally  made  up  of  emotional 
impressions  rather  than  of  facts.  Any  one  who  will 
take  the  trouble  to  ascertain  the  enormous  disadvan 
tages  under  which  Wirt  wrote,  and  which,  as  we  now 
know,  gave  him  great  discouragement,  will  be  inclined 
to  applaud  him  for  making  so  good  a  book,  rather  than 
to  blame  him  for  not  making  a  better  one. 

It  is  proper  for  me  to  state  that,  besides  the  copious 
printed  materials  now  within  reach,  I  have  been  able  to 
make  use  of  a  large  number  of  manuscripts  relating  to 
my  subject.  Of  these  may  be  specified  a  document,  be 
longing  to  Cornell  University,  written  by  a  great-grand 
son  of  Patrick  Henry,  the  late  Reverend  Edward  Fon 
taine,  and  giving,  among  other  things,  several  new  anec 
dotes  of  the  great  orator,  as  told  to  the  writer  by  his 
own  father,  Colonel  Patrick  Henry  Fontaine,  who  was 
much  with  Patrick  Henry  during  the  later  years  of  his 
life.  I  may  add  that,  through  the  kindness  of  the 
Honorable  William  Wirt  Henry,  of  Richmond,  I  have 
had  access  to  the  manuscripts  which  were  collected  by 
Wirt  for  the  purposes  of  his  book,  but  were  only  in 
part  used  by  him.  With  unstinted  generosity,  Mr. 
Henry  likewise  placed  in  my  hands  all  the  papers  re- 


PREFACE.  vii 

lating  to  his  illustrious  grandfather,  which,  during  the 
past  thirty  years  or  more,  he  has  succeeded  in  bringing 
together,  either  from  different  branches  of  the  family, 
or  from  other  sources.  A  portion  of  the  manuscripts 
thus  accumulated  by  him  consists  of  copies  of  the  let 
ters,  now  preserved  in  the  department  of  state,  written 
by  Patrick  Henry,  chiefly  while  governor  of  Virginia, 
to  General  Washington,  to  the  president  of  congress, 
to  Virginia's  delegation  in  congress,  and  to  the  board 
of  war. 

In  the  very  front  of  this  book,  therefore,  I  record  my 
grateful  acknowledgments  to  Mr.  William  Wirt  Henry  : 
acknowledgments,  not  alone  for  the  sort  of  generosity 
of  which  I  have  just  spoken,  but  for  another  sort,  also, 
which  is  still  more  rare,  and  which  I  cannot  so  easily 
describe, — his  perfect  delicacy,  while  prSmoting  my 
more  difficult  researches  by  his  invaluable  help,  in  never 
once  encumbering  that  help  with  the  least  effort  to 
hamper  my  judgment,  or  to  sway  it  from  the  natural 
conclusions  to  which  my  studies  might  lead. 

Finally,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  mention  that,  in  the 
preparation  of  this  book,  I  have  received  courteous  as 
sistance  from  Mr.  Theodore  F.  Dwight  and  Mr.  S. 
M.  Hamilton  of  the  library  of  the  department  of  state ; 
from  the  Reverend  Professor  W.  M.  Hughes,  of  Hobart 

o 

College ;  and  from  the  Reverend  Stephen  II.  Synriott, 
rector  of  St.  John's,  Ithaca.  M.  C.  To 

CORNELL  UNIVERSITY,  3  June,  1887. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE         (  / 

EARLY  YEARS 1 

CHAPTER  II. 
WAS  HE  ILLITERATE  ? 9 

CHAPTER  III. 
BECOMES  A  LAWYER 20 

CHAPTER  IV. 
A  CELEBRATED  CASE 32 

CHAPTER  V. 
FIRST  TRIUMPHS  AT  THE  CAPITAL 50 

CHAPTER  VI. 
CONSEQUENCES 69 

CHAPTER  VII. 
STEADY  WORK 80 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
IN  THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS  .     .    o     .    .    .     .      90 

CHAPTER  IX. 
"AFTER  ALL,  WE  MUST  FIGHT" 113 

CHAPTER  X. 
THE  RAPE  OF  THE  GUNPOWDER 135 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 
IN  CONGRESS  AND  IN  CAMP 148 

CHAPTER  XII. 
INDEPENDENCE 167 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
FIRST  GOVERNOR  OF  THE  STATE  OF  VIRGINIA    ....    189 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
GOVERNOR  A  SECOND  TIME 213 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THIRD  YEAR  IN  THE  GOVERNORSHIP 229 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
AT  HOME  AND  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  DELEGATES  ....    242 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
SHALL  THE  CONFEDERATION  BE  MADE  STRONGER?     .    .    2GG 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
THE  BATTLE  IN  VIRGINIA  OVER  THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION    279 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
THE  AFTER-FIGHT  FOR  AMENDMENTS 302 

CHAPTER  XX. 
LAST  LABORS  AT  THE  BAP. 318 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
IN  RETIREMENT 341 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
LAST  DAYS  363 


PATRICK  HENRY. 


CHAPTER  I.  -      ?,•  ;     .;  ;•    ',   ; 

EARLY    YEARS. 

ON  the  evening  of  October  7,  1732,  that  merry  Old 
Virginian,  Colonel  William  Byrd,  of  Westover,  having 
just  finished  a  journey  through  King  William  County 
for  the  inspection  of  his  estates,  was  conducted,  for  his 
night's  lodging,  to  the  house  of  a  blooming  widow,  Mis 
tress  Sarah  Syme,  in  the  county  of  Hanover.  This 
lady,  at  first  supposing  her  guest  to  be  some  new  suitor 
for  her  lately  disengaged  affections,  "  put  on  a  Gravity 
that  becomes  a  Weed ;  "  but  so  soon  as  she  learned  her 
mistake  and  the  name  of  her  distinguished  visitor,  she 
"  brighten'd  up  into  an  unusual  cheerfulness  and  Seren 
ity.  She  was  a  portly,  handsome  Dame,  of  the  Family 
of  Esau,  and  seem'd  riot  to  pine  too  much  for  the  Death 
of  her  Husband,  who  was  of  the  Family  of  the  Sara 
cens.  .  .  .  This  widow  is  a  person  of  a  lively  &  cheer 
ful  Conversation,  with  much  less  Reserve  than  most  of 
her  Countrywomen.  It  becomes  her  very  well,  and 
sets  off  her  other  agreeable  Qualities  to  Advantage. 
We  tost  off  a  Bottle  of  honest  Port,  which  we  relisht 
with  a  broil'd  Chicken.  At  Nine  I  retir'd  to  my  Devo 
tions,  And  then  Slept  so  Sound  that  Fancy  itself  was 


2  PATRICK  HENRY. 

Stnpify'd,  else  I  shou'd  liave  dreamt  of  my  most  oblig 
ing  Landlady."  The  next  day  being  Sunday,  "the 
courteous  Widow  invited  me  to  rest  myself  there  that 
good  day,  and  go  to  Church  with  Her,  but  I  excus'd 
myself  by  telling  her  she  wou'd  certainly  spoil  my  De 
votion.  Then  she  civilly  entreated  me  to  make  her 
.  House^  nW  llome  whenever  I  visited  my  Plantations, 
'  which 'made 'me  bow  low,  and  thank  her  very  kindly."  * 
Not;  yery;  long  after  that  notable  visit,  the  sprightly 
\v4<2ow7gaye*  )iei,  ba^d  in  marriage  to  a  young  Scotch 
man  of  good  family,  John  Henry,  of  Aberdeen,  a 
protege  and  probably  a  kinsman  of  her  former  hus 
band  ;  and  continuing  to  reside  on  her  estate  of  Stud- 
ley,  in  the  county  of  Hanover,  she  became,  on  May  29, 
1736,  the  mother  of  Patrick  Henry. 

Through  the  lineage  of  both  his  parents,  this  child 
had  some  claim  to  an  inheritance  of  brains.  His  father, 
a  man  of  firm  and  sound  intellect,  had  been  liberally 
educated  in  Scotland  ;  among  the  country  gentlemen  of 
his  neighborhood  in  Virginia,  he  was  held  in  high 
esteem  for  superior  intelligence  and  character,  as  13 
shown  by  the  positions  he  long  held  of  county  surveyor, 
colonel  of  his  regiment,  and  presiding  judge  of  the 
county  court ;  while  he  could  number  among  his  near 
kinsmen  at  home  several  persons  of  eminence  as  divines, 
orators,  or  men  of  letters,  —  such  as  his  uncle,  William 
Robertson,  minister  of  Borthwick  in  Mid  Lothian  and 
afterward  of  the  Old  Grey  Friars'  Church  in  Edin 
burgh  ;  his  cousin,  David  Henry,  the  successor  of  Ed 
ward  Cave  in  the  management  of  the  '•  Gentleman's 
Magazine ; "  and  especially  his  cousin,  William  Robert- 
sou,  principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and 
1  Byrd  Manuscripts,  ii.  79,  80. 


EARLY   YEARS. 

author  of  the  "  History  of  the  Reign  of  the  Emperor 
Charles  V."  Moreover,  among  the  later  paternal 
relatives  of  Patrick  Henry  may  be  mentioned  one  per 
son  of  oratorical  and  forensic  genius  very  brilliant  and 
in  quality  not  unlike  his  own.  Patrick  Henry's  father 
was  second  cousin  to  that  beautiful  Eleanor  Syme,  of 
Edinburgh,  who,  in  1777,  became  the  wife  of  Henry 
Brougham,  of  Brougham  Hall,  Westmoreland.  Their 
eldest  son  was  Lord  Brougham,  who  was  thus  the 
third  cousin  of  Patrick  Henry.  To  some  it  will  per 
haps  seem  not  a  mere  caprice  of  ingenuity  to  discover 
in  the  fiery,  eccentric,  and  truculent  eloquence  of  the 
great  English  advocate  and  parliamentary  orator  a 
family  likeness  to  that  of  his  renowned  American  kins 
man  ;  or  to  find  in  the  fierceness  of  the  champion  of 
Queen  Caroline  against  George  IV.,  and  of  English 
anti-slavery  reform  and  of  English  parliamentary  re 
form  against  aristocratic  and  commercial  selfishness, 
the  same  bitter  and  eager  radicalism  that  burned  in  the 
blood  of  him  who,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  was,  in 
popular  oratory,  the  great  champion  of  the  colonies 
against  George  III.,  and  afterward  of  the  political  au 
tonomy  of  the  State  of  Virginia  against  the  all-domi 
nating  centralization  which  he  saw  coiled  up  in  the 
projected  Constitution  of  the  United  States.1 

Those,  however,  who   knew  the   mother  of  Patrick 

1  I  have   from  private   sources   information  that  Brougham  was 
aware  of  his  relationship  to  Patrick  Henry,  and  that  in  recognition 
of  it  he  showed  marked  attentions  to   a  grand-nephew  of  Patrick 
Henry,  the  late  W.  C.  Preston,  of  South   Carolina,  when  the  lat 
ter  was  in  England.     Moreover,  in  his  Life  and  Times,  i.  17,  ^ 
Brougham  declares  that  he  derived  from  his  maternal  ancestors  l.,e 
qualities  which  lifted  him  above  the  mediocrity  that  had  always  ** 
tached  to  his  ancestors  on  the  paternal  side. 


t  PATRICK  HENRY. 

Henry,  and  her  family,  the  Winstons,  were  accustomed 
to  think  that  it  was  from  her  side  of  the  house  that  he 
derived  the  most  characteristic  traits  not  only  of  his 
genius,  but  of  his  disposition.  The  Winstons  of  Vir 
ginia  were  of  Welsh  stock ;  a  family  marked  by  vivac 
ity  of  spirit,  conversational  talent,  a  lyric  and  dramatic 
turn,  a  gift  for  music  and  for  eloquent  speech,  at  the 
same  time  by  a  fondness  for  country  life,  for  inartificial 
pleasures,  for  fishing  and  hunting,  for  the  solitude  and 
the  unkempt  charms  of  nature.  It  was  said,  too,  of 
the  Winstons  that  their  talents  were  in  excess  of  their 
ambition  or  of  their  energy,  and  were  not  brought  into 
use  except  in  a  fitful  way,  and  under  the  stimulus  of 
some  outward  and  passing  occasion.  They  seem  to 
have  belonged  to  that  very  considerable  class  of  persons 
in  this  world  of  whom  more  might  have  been  made. 
Especially  much  talk  used  to  be  heard,  among  old  men 
in  Virginia,  of  Patrick  Henry's  uncle,  his  mother's  own 
brother,  William  Winston,  as  having  a  gift  of  eloquence 
dazzling  and  wondrous  like  Patrick's,  nay,  as  himself 
unsurpassed  in  oratory  among  all  the  great  speakers  of 
Virginia  except  by  Patrick  himself.1 

The  system  of  education  prevailing  in  Virginia  dur 
ing  Patrick  Henry's  early  years  was  extremely  simple. 
It  consisted  of  an  almost  entire  lack  of  public  schools, 
mitigated  by  the  sporadic  and  irregular  exercise  of 
domestic  tuition.  Those  who  could  afford  to  import 
instruction  into  their  homes  got  it,  if  they  desired ; 
those  who  could  not,  generally  went  without.  As  to 
the  youthful  Patrick,  he  and  education  never  took 
kindly  to  each  other.  From  nearly  all  quarters  the 
testimony  is  to  this  effect, — that  he  was  an  indolent, 
i  Wirt,  3. 


EARLY   YEARS.  5 

dreamy,  frolicsome  creature,  with  a  mortal  enmity  to 
books,  supplemented  by  a  passionate  regard  for  fish 
ing-rods  and  shot-guns  ;  disorderly  in  dress,  slouching, 
vagrant,  unambitious  ;  a  roamer  in  woods,  a  loiterer  on 
river-banks ;  having  more  tastes  and  aspirations  in 
common  with  trappers  and  frontiersmen  than  with  the 
toilers  of  civilized  life ;  giving  no  hint  nor  token,  by 
word  or  act,  of  the  possession  of  any  intellectual  gift 
that  could  raise  him  above  mediocrity,  or  even  lift  him 
up  to  it. 

During  the  first  ten  years  of  his  life,  he  seems  to 
have  made,  at  a  small  school  in  the  neighborhood, 
some  small  and  reluctant  progress  into  the  mysteries 
of  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic ;  whereupon  his^ 
father  took  personal  charge  of  the  matter,  and  con 
ducted  his  further  education  at  home,  along  with  that 
of  other  children,  being  aided  in  the  task  by  the 
very  competent  help  of  a  brother,  the  Rev.  Patrick 
Henry,  rector  of  St.  Paul's  parish,  in  Hanover,  and 
apparently  a  good  Scotch  classicist.  In  this  way  our 
Patrick  acquired  some  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek, 
and  rather  more  knowledge  of  mathematics,  —  the  lat 
ter  being  the  only  branch  of  book-learning  for  which, 
in  those  days,  he  showed  the  least  liking.  However, 
under  such  circumstances,  with  little  real  discipline, 
doubtless,  and  amid  plentiful  interruptions,  the  process 
of  ostensible  education  went  forward  with  the  young 
man ;  and  even  this  came  to  an  end  by  the  time  that  he 
was  fifteen  years  old. 

At  that  age,  he  was  duly  graduated  from  the  domestic 
school-room  into  the  shop  of  a  country  tradesman  hard 
by.  After  an  apprenticeship  there  of  a  single  year, 
his  father  set  him  up  in  tra4e,  joining  with  him  in  the 


6  PATRICK  HENRY. 

conduct  of  a  country  store  his  elder  brother,  William, 
a  youth  more  indolent,  if  possible,  as  well  as  more  dis 
orderly  and  uncommercial  than  Patrick  himself.  One 
year  of  this  odd  partnership  brought  the  petty  concern 
to  its  inevitable  fate.  Just  one  year  after  that,  having 
attained  the  ripe  age  of  eighteen,  and  being  then  en 
tirely  out  of  employment,  and  equally  out  of  money, 
Patrick  rounded  out  his  embarrassments,  and  gave  sym 
metry  to  them,  as  it  were,  by  getting  married,  —  and 
that  to  a  young  woman  quite  as  impecunious  as  him 
self.  The  name  of  this  damsel  was  Sarah  Shell-on ;  her 
father  being  a  small  farmer,  and  afterward  a  small 
tavern-keeper  in  the  neighborhood.  In  the  very  rash- 
•ness  and  absurdity  of  this  proceeding  on  the  part  of 
these  two  interesting  young  paupers,  irresistibly  smit 
ten  with  each  other's  charms,  and  mutually  resolved  to 
defy  their  own  helplessness  by  doubling  it,  there  seems 
to  have  been  a  sort  of  semi-ludicrous  pathos  which  con 
stituted  an  irresistible  call  for  help. 

The  parents  on  both  sides  heard  the  call,  and  by  their 
joint  efforts  soon  established  the  young  couple  on  a  lit 
tle  farm  near  at  hand,  from  which,  by  their  own  toil, 
reenforced  by  that  of  half  a  dozen  slaves,  they  were 
expected  to  extort  a  living.  This  experiment,  the  suc 
cess  of  which  depended  on  exactly  those  qualities  which 
Patrick  did  not  then  possess,  —  industry,  order,  sharp 
calculation,  persistence,  —  turned  out  as  might  have 
been  predicted.  At -the  end  of  two  years  he  made  a 
forced  sale  of  some  of  his  slaves,  and  invested  the 
proceeds  in  the  stock  of  a  country  store  once  more. 
But  as  he  had  now  proved  himself  to  be  a  bad  farmer, 
and  a  still  worse  merchant,  it  is  not  easy  to  divine 
by  what  subtle  process  of  reasoning  he  had  been 


EARLY    YEARS.  7 

able  to  conclude  that  there  would  be  any  improvement 
in  his  circumstances  by  getting  out  of  agriculture,  and 
getting  back  into  merchandise. 

When  he  undertook  this  last  venture  he  was  still  but 
a  youth  of  twenty.  By  the  time  that  he  was  twenty- 
three,  that  is,  by  the  autumn  of  1759,  he  had  become, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  insolvent  ;  and  in  the  relief 
which  this  incident  afforded  him  from  the  daily  drudg 
ery  of  opening  and  closing  his  store  and  of  lolling  upon 
its  counter,  he  had  a  period  of  undisturbed  leisure  for 
taking  into  consideration  what  he  should  do  next.  Al 
ready  was  he  the  happy  father  of  sundry  small  children, 
with  the  most  trustworthy  prospect  of  a  steady  enlarge 
ment  and  multiplication  of  his  paternal  honors.  Surely, 
to  a  man  of  twenty-three,  a  husband  and  a  father,  who, 
from  the  age  of  fifteen,  had  been  engaged  in  a  series  of 
enterprises  to  gain  his  livelihood,  and  had  perfectly 
failed  in  every  one  of  them,  the  question  of  his  future 
means  of  subsistence  must  have  presented  itself  as  a 
subject  of  no  little  pertinence,  not  to  say  urgency. 
However,  at  that  time  Patrick  seems  to  have  been  a 
young  fellow  of  superabounding  health  and  of  inextin 
guishable  spirits,  and  even  in  that  crisis  of  his  life  he 
was  able  to  deal  gayly  with  its  problems.  In  that  very 
year,  1759,  Thomas  Jefferson,  then  a  lad  of  sixteen, 
and  on  his  way  to  the  College  of  William  and  Mary, 
happened  to  spend  the  Christmas  holidays  at  the  house 
of  Colonel  Nathau  Dandridge,  in"  Hanover,  and  there 
first  met  Patrick  Henry.  Long  afterward,  recalling 
these  days,  Jefferson  furnished  this  picture  of  him : 
"  Mr.  Henry  had,  a  little  before,  broken  up  his  store, 
or  rather  it  had  broken  him  up ;  but  his  misfortunes 
were  not  to  be  traced  either  in  his  countenance  or  con- 


8  PATRICK  HENRY. 

duct."  "  During  the  festivity  of  the  season  I  met  him 
in  society  every  day,  and  we  became  well  acquainted, 
although  I  was  much  his  junior.  .  .  .  His  manners  had 
something  of  coarseness  in  them.  His  passion  was  mu 
sic,  dancing,  and  pleasantry.  He  excelled  in  the  last, 
and  it  attached  every  one  to  him."  l 

Shortly  after  Jefferson  left  those  hilarious  scenes  for 
the  somewhat  more  restrained  festivities  of  the  little 
college  at  Williamsburg,  Patrick  succeeded  in  settling 
in  his  own  mind  what  he  was  going  to  do  next.  He 
could  not  dig,  so  it  seemed,  neither  could  he  traffic,  but 
perhaps  he  could  talk.  Why  not  get  a  living  by  his 
tongue  ?  Why  not  be  a  lawyer  ? 

But  before  we  follow  him  through  the  gates  of  that 
superb  profession,  —  gates  which,  after  some  preliminary 
creaking  of  the  hinges,  threw  open  to  him  the  broad 
pathway  to  wealth,  renown,  unbounded  influence,  —  let 
us  stop  a  moment  longer  on  the  outside,  and  get  a  more 
distinct  idea,  if  we  can,  of  his  real  intellectual  outfit  for 
the  career  on  which  he  was  about  to  enter. 

1  In  a  letter  to  Wirt,  in  1815,  Life  of  Henry,  14, 15  ;  also,  Writings 
of  Jefferson,  vi.  487,  488,  where  the  letter  is  given,  apparently,  from 
the  first  draft. 


CHAPTER   II. 

WAS    HE    ILLITERATE? 

CONCERNING  the  quality  and  extent  of  Patrick 
Henry's  early  education,  it  is  perhaps  impossible  now 
to  speak  with  entire  confidence.  On  the  one  hand 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  tendency,  in  his  own  time 
and  since,  to  overstate  his  lack  of  education,  and  this 
partly,  it  may  be,  from  a  certain  instinctive  fascination 
which  one  finds  in  pointing  to  so  dramatic  a  contrast  as 
that  between  the  sway  which  the  great  orator  wielded 
over  the  minds  of  other  men  and  the  untrained  visror 

o 

and  illiterate  spontaneity  of  his  own  mind.  Then,  too, 
it  must  be  admitted  that,  whatever  early  education 
Patrick  Henry  may  have  received,  he  did,  in  certain 
companies  and  at  certain  periods  of  his  life,  rather  too 
perfectly  conceal  it  under  an  uncouth  garb  and  manner, 
and  under  a  pronunciation  which,  to  say  the  least,  was 
archaic  and  provincial.  Jefferson  told  Daniel  Webster 
that  Patrick  Henry's  "  pronunciation  was  vulgar  and 
vicious,"  although,  as  Jefferson  adds,  this  "was  for 
gotten  while  he  was  speaking."1  Governor  John  Page 
"  used  to  relate,  on  the  testimony  of  his  own  ears,"  that 
Patrick  Henry  would  speak  of  "the  yearth,"  and  of 
"  men's  naiteral  parts  being  improved  by  larnin' ; " 2 
while  Spencer  Roane  mentions  his  pronunciation  of 

1  Curtis,  Life  of  Webster,  i.  585. 

2  Randall,  Life  of  Jefferson,  i.  20. 


10  PATRICK   HENRY. 

China  as  "  Cheena." l  All  this,  however,  it  should  be 
noted,  does  not  prove  illiteracy.  If,  indeed,  such  was 
his  ordinary  speech,  and  not,  as  some  have  suggested,  a 
manner  adopted  on  particular  occasions  for  the  purpose 
of  identifying  himself  with  the  mass  of  his  hearers,  the 
fact  is  evidence  merely  that  he  retained  through  his 
mature  life,  on  the  one  hand,  some  relics  of  an  old- 
fashioned  good  usage,  and,  on  the  other,  some  traces  of 
the  brogue  of  the  district  in  which  he  was  born,  just  as 
Edmund  Pendleton  used  to  say  "  scaicely  "  for  scarcely, 
and  as  John  Taylor,  of  Caroline,  would  say  "  bare  "  for 
bar;  just  as  Thomas  Chalmers  always  retained  the 
brogue  of  Fifeshire,  and  Thomas  Carlyle  that  of  Eccle- 
fechan.  Certainly  a  brogue  can  never  be  elegant,  but, 
as  it  has  many  times  coexisted  with  very  high  intellect 
ual  cultivation,  its  existence  in  Patrick  Henry  does  not 
prove  him  to  have  been  uncultivated. 

Then,  too,  it  must  be  remembered  that  he  himself 
had  a  habit  of  depreciating  his  own  acquaintance  with 
books,  and  his  own  dependence  on  them.  He  did  this, 
it  would  seem,  partly  from  a  consciousness  that  it  would 
only  increase  his  hold  on  the  sympathy  and  support  of 
the  mass  of  the  people  of  Virginia  if  they  should  regard 
him  as  absolutely  one  of  themselves  and  in  no  sense 
raised  above  them  by  artificial  advantages.  Moreover, 
this  habit  of  self-depreciation  would  be  brought  into 
play  when  he  was  in  conversation  with  such  professed 
devourers  of  books  as  John  Adams  and  Jefferson,  com 
pared  with  whom  he  might  very  properly  feel  an  un- 
fei^ned  conviction  that  he  was  no  reader  at  all,  —  a  con- 

O 

viction  in  which   they  would  be  quite   likely  to  agree 
with  him,  and  which   they  would  be  very  likely  to  ex* 
i  MS. 


WAS  HE  ILLITERATE?  11 

press.  Thus,  John  Adams  mentions  that,  in  the  first 
intimacy  of  their  friendship  begun  at  the  Congress  of 
1774,  the  Virginian  orator,  at  his  lodgings,  confessed 
one  night  that,  for  himself,  he  had  "had  no  public  edu 
cation  ; "  that  at  fifteen  he  had  "  read  Virgil  and  Livy," 
but  that  he  had  "  not  looked  into  a  Latin  book  since."  1 
Upon  Jefferson,  who  of  course  knew  Henry  far  longer 
and  far  more  closely,  the  impression  of  his  disconnec 
tion  from  books  seems  to  have  been  even  more  decided, 
especially  if  we  may  accept  the  testimony  of  Jefferson's 
old  age,  when  his  memory  had  taken  to  much  stum 
bling,  and  his  imagination  even  more  to  extravagance 
than  in  his  earlier  life.  Said  Jefferson,  in  1824,  of  his 
ancient  friend :  "  He  was  a  man  of  very  little  knowl 
edge  of  any  sort.  He  read  nothing,  and  had  no 
books."  2 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  certain  facts  concerning 
Henry's  early  education  and  intellectual  habits  which 
may  be  regarded  as  pretty  well  established.  Before 
the  age  of  ten,  at  a  petty  neighborhood  school,  he  had 
got  started  upon  the  three  primary  steps  of  knowledge. 
Then,  from  ten  to  fifteen,  whatever  may  have  been  his 
own  irregularity  and  disinclination,  he  was  the  member 
of  a  home  school,  under  the  immediate  training  of  his 
father  and  his  uncle,  both  of  them  good  Scotch  clas 
sical  scholars,  and  one  of  them  at  least  a  proficient  in 
mathematics.  No  doubt  the  human  mind,  especially 
in  its  best  estate  of  juvenile  vigor  and  frivolity,  has 
remarkable  aptitude  for  the  repulsion  of  unwelcome 
knowledge  ;  but  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  even  Pat 
rick  Henry's  gift  in  that  direction  could  have  prevented 

1  Works  of  John  Adams,  ii.  396. 

2  Curtis,  Life  of  Webster,  i.  585. 


12  PATRICK  HENRY. 

his  becoming,  under  two  such  masters,  tolerably  well 
grounded  in  Latin,  if  not  in  Greek,  or  that  the  per 
son  who  at  fifteen  is  able  to  read  Virgil  and  Livy,  no 
matter  what  may  be  his  subsequent  neglect  of  Latin 
authors,  is  not  already  imbued  with  the  essential  and 
indestructible  rudiments  of  the  best  intellectual  culture. 
It  is  this  early  initiation,  on  the  basis  of  a  drill  in 
Latin,  into  the  art  and  mystery  of  expression,  which 
Patrick  Henry  received  from  masters  so  competent  and 
so  deeply  interested  in  him,  which  helps  us  to  under 
stand  a  certain  trait  of  his,  which  puzzled  Jefferson,  and 
which,  without  this  clew,  would  certainly  be  inexpli 
cable.  From  his  first  appearance  as  a  speaker  to  the 
end  of  his  days,  he  showed  himself  to  be  something 
more  than  a  declaimer,  —  indeed,  an  adept  in  language. 
"  I  have  been  often  astonished,"  said  Jefferson,  "  at  his 
command  of  proper  language ;  how  lie  obtained  the 
knowledge  of  it  I  never  could  find  out,  as  he  read  little, 
and  conversed  little  with  educated  men."1  It  is  truo, 
probably,  that  we  have  no  perfect  report  of  any  speech 
he  ever  made  ;  but  even  through  the  obvious  imperfec 
tions  of  his  reporters  there  always  gleams  a  certain 
superiority  in  diction,  —  a  mastery  of  the  logic  and  po 
tency  of  fitting  words  ;  such  a  mastery  as  genius  alone, 
without  special  training,  cannot  account  for.  Further 
more,  we  have  in  the  letters  of  his  which  survive,  and 
which  of  course  were  generally  spontaneous  and  quite 
unstudied  effusions,  absolutely  authentic  and  literal  ex 
amples  of  his  ordinary  use  of  words.  Some  of  these 
letters  will  be  found  in  the  following  pages.  Even  as 
manuscripts,  I  should  insist  that  the  letters  of  Patrick 
Henry  are  witnesses  to  the  fact  and  quality  of  real  iu- 
i  Curtis,  Life  of  Webster,  i.  585. 


WAS   HE   ILLITERATE?  13 

tellectual  cultivation  :  these  are  not  the  manuscripts  of 
an  uneducated  person.  In  penmanship,  punctuation, 
spelling,  syntax,  they  are,  upon  the  whole,  rather  better 
than  the  letters  of  most  of  the  great  actors  of  our  Revo 
lution.  But,  aside  from  the  mere  mechanics  of  written 
speech,  there  is  in  the  diction  of  Patrick  Henry's  letters 
the  nameless  felicity  which,  even  with  great  natural 
endowments,  is  only  communicable  by  genuine  literary 
culture  in  some  form.  Where  did  Patrick  Henry  get 
such  literary  culture  ?  The  question  can  be  answered 
only  by  pointing  to  that  painful  drill  in  Latin  which  the 
book-hating  boy  suffered  under  his  uncle  and  his  father, 
when,  to  his  anguish,  Virgil  and  Livy  detained  him 
anon  from  the  true  joys  of  existence. 

Wirt  seems  to  have  satisfied  himself,  on  evidence 
carefully  gathered  from  persons  who  were  contempo 
raries  of  Patrick  Henry,  that  the  latter  had  received  in 
his  youth  no  mean  classical  education ;  but,  in  the  final 
revision  of  his  book  for  publication,  Wirt  abated  his 
statements  on  that  subject,  in  deference  to  the  some 
what  vehement  assertions  of  Jefferson.  It  may  be  that, 
in  its  present  lessened  form,  Wirt's  account  of  the  mat 
ter  is  the  more  correct  one ;  and,  in  fact,  what  has  thus 
far  been  said  in  this  book  implies  in  Henry  no  greater 
school-training  than  Wirt  has  finally  assigned  to  him. 
But  this  is  the  proper  place  in  which  to  mention  one 
bit  of  direct  testimony  upon  the  subject,  which,  prob 
ably,  was  not  known  to  Wirt.  Patrick  Henry  is  said 
to  have  told  his  eldest  grandson,  Colonel  Patrick  Henry 
Fontaine,  that  he  was  instructed  by  his  uncle  "  not  only 
in  the  catechism,  but  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics."1 
It  may  help  us  to  realize  something  of  the  moral 
i  MS. 


14  PATRICK  HENRY. 

stamina  entering  into  the  training  which  the  unfledged 
orator  thus  got  that,  as  he  related,  his  uncle  taught  him 
these  maxims  of  conduct :  "  To  be  true  and  just  in  all 
my  dealings.  To  bear  no  malice  nor  hatred  in  my  heart. 
To  keep  my  hands  from  picking  and  stealing.  Not  to 
covet  other  men's  goods  ;  but  to  learn  and  labor  truly 
to  get  my  own  living,  and  to  do  my  duty  in  that  state 
of  life  unto  which  it  shall  please  God  to  call  me."  1 

Under  such  a  teacher  Patrick  Henry  was  so  thoroughly 
grounded,  at  least  in  Latin  and  Greek  grammar,  that 
when,  long  afterward,  his  eldest  grandson  was  a  stu 
dent  in  Hampden-Sidney  College,  the  latter  found  u  his 
grandfather's  examinations  of  his  progress  in  Greek  and 
Latin  "  so  rigorous  that  he  dreaded  them  "  much  more 
than  he  did  his  recitations  to  his  professors."  2  Colonel 
Fontaine  also  states  that  he  was  present  when  a  cer 
tain  French  visitor,  who  did  not  speak  English,  was 
introduced  to  Governor  Henry,  who  did  not  speak 
French.  During  the  war  of  the  Revolution  and  just 
afterwards  a  similar  embarrassment  was  not  infrequent 
here  in  the  case  of  our  public  men,  among  whom  the 
study  of  French  had  been  very  uncommon  ;  and  for 
many  of  them  the  old  colonial  habit  of  fitting  boys  for 
college  by  training  them  to  the  colloquial  use  of  Latin 
proved  to  be  a  great  convenience.  Colonel  Fontaine's 
anecdote  implies,  what  is  altogether  probable,  that  Pat 
rick  Henry's  early  drill  in  Latin  had  included  the 
ordinary  colloquial  use  of  it ;  for  he  says  that  in  the 
case  of  the  visitor  in  question  his  grandfather  was  able, 
by  means  of  his  early  stock  of  Latin  words,  to  carry  on 
the  conversation  in  that  language.8 

This  anecdote,  implying  Patrick  Henry's  ability  to 
i  MS.  2  MS.  8  MS. 


WAS  HE  ILLITERATE?  15 

express  himself  in  Latin,  I  give  for  what  it  may  be 
worth.  Some  will  think  it  incredible,  and  that  impres 
sion  will  be  further  increased  by  the  fact  that  Colonel 
Fontaine  names  Albert  Gallatin  as  the  visitor  with 
whom,  on  account  of  his  ignorance  of  English,  the  con 
versation  was  thus  carried  on  in  Latin.  This,  of  course, 
must  be  a  mistake ;  for,  at  the  time  of  his  first  visit  to 
Virginia,  Gallatin  could  speak  English  very  well,  so 
well,  in  fact,  that  he  went  to  Virginia  expressly  as 
English  interpreter  to  a  French  gentleman  who  could 
not  speak  our  language.1  However,  as,  during  all  that 
period,  Governor  Henry  had  many  foreign  visitors, 
Colonel  Fontaine,  in  his  subsequent  account  of  that 
particular  visitor,  might  easily  have  misplaced  the  name 
without  thereby  discrediting  the  substance  of  his  narra 
tive.  Indeed,  the  substance  of  his  narrative,  namely, 
that  he,  Colonel  Fontaine,  did  actually  witness,  in  the 
case  of  some  foreign  visitor,  such  an  exhibition  of  his 
grandfather's  good  early  training  in  Latin,  cannot  be 
rejected  without  an  impeachment  of  the  veracity  of  the 
narrator,  or  at  least  of  that  of  his  son,  who  has  recorded 
the  alleged  incident.  Of  course,  if  that  narrative  be 
accepted  as  substantially  true,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
conclude  that  the  Jeffersonian  tradition  of  Patrick 
Henry's  illiteracy  is,  at  any  rate,  far  too  highly  tinted. 
Thus  far  we  have  been  dealing  with  the  question  of 
Patrick  Henry's  education  down  to  the  time  of  his 
leaving  school,  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  It  was  not  until 
nine  years  afterward  that  he  began  the  study  of  the 
law.  What  is  the  intellectual  record  of  these  nine 
years  ?  It  is  obvious  that  they  were  years  unfavorable 
to  systematic  training  of  any  sort,  or  to  any  regulated 
i  Henry  Adams,  Life  of  Gallatin,  59,  60. 


16  PATRICK  HENRY. 

acquisition  of  knowledge.  During  all  that  time  in  his 
life,  as  we  now  look  back  upon  it,  he  has  for  us  the 
aspect  of  some  lawless,  unkempt  genius,  in  untoward 
circumstances,  groping  in  the  dark,  not  without  wild 
joy,  towards  his  inconceivable,  true  vocation ;  set  to 
tasks  for  which  he  was  grotesquely  unfit;  blundering 
on  from  misfortune  to  misfortune,  with  an  overflow  of 
unemployed  energy  and  vivacity  that  swept  him  often 
into  rough  fun,  into  great  gusts  of  innocent  riot  and 
horse-play  ;  withal  borne  along,  for  many  days  together, 
by  the  mysterious  undercurrents  of  his  nature,  into  that 
realm  of  reverie  where  the  soul  feeds  on  immortal  fruit 
and  communes  with  unseen  associates,  the  body  mean 
while  being  left  to  the  semblance  of  idleness  ;  of  all 
which  the  man  himself  might  have  given  this  valid 
justification  :  — 

"  I  loafe  and  invite  my  soul, 
I  lean  and  loafe  at  my  ease,  observing  a  spear  of  summer  grass." 

Nevertheless,  these  nine  years  of  groping,  blundering, 
and  seeming  idleness,  were  not  without  their  influence 
on  his  intellectual  improvement  even  through  direct 
contact  with  books.  While  still  a  boy  in  his  teens,  and 
put  prematurely  to  uncongenial  attempts  at  shop-keeping 
and  farm-keeping,  he  at  any  rate  made  the  great  dis 
covery  that  in  books  and  in  the  gathering  of  knowledge 
from  books  could  be  found  solace  and  entertainment; 
in  short,  he  then  acquired  a  taste  for  reading.  No  one 
pretends  that  Patrick  Henry  ever  became  a  bookish 
person.  From  the  first  and  always  the  habit  of  his 
mind  was  that  of  direct  action  upon  every  subject  that 
he  had  to  deal  with,  through  his  own  reflection,  and 
along  the  broad  primary  lines  of  common  sense.  There 
is  never  in  his  thought  anything  subtle  or  recondite,  — 


WAS  HE  ILLITERATE?  IT 

no  mental  movement  through  the  media  of  books ;  but 
there  is  good  evidence  for  saying  that  this  bewildered 
and  undeveloped  youth,  drifting  about  in  chaos,  did  in 
those  days  actually  get  a  taste  for  reading,  and  that  he 
never  lost  it.  The  books  which  he  first  read  are  vaguely 
described  as  "  a  few  light  and  elegant  authors,"  l  prob 
ably  in  English  essays  and  fiction.  As  the  years  passed 
and  the  boy's  mind  matured,  he  rose  to  more  serious 
books.  He  became  fond  of  geography  and  of  history, 
and  he  pushed  his  readings,  especially,  into  the  history 
of  Greece  and  of  Rome.  He  was  particularly  fasci-; 
nated  by  Livy,  which  he  read  in  the  English  transla- ! 
tion  ;  and  then  it  was,  as  he  himself  related  it  to  Judge 
Hugh  Nelson,  that  he  made  the  rule  to  read  Livy 
through  "  once  at  least  in  every  year  during  the  early 
part  of  his  life." 5  He  read  also,  it  is  apparent,  the 
history  of  England  and  of  the  English  colonies  in 
America,  and  especially  of  his  own  colony;  for  the 
latter  finding,  no  doubt,  in  Beverley  and  in  the  grave 
and  noble  pages  of  Stith,  and  especially  in  the  colonial 
charters  given  by  Stith,  much  material  for  those  inci 
sive  opinions  which  he  so  early  formed  as  to  the  rights 
of  the  colonies,  and  as  to  the  barriers  to  be  thrown  up 
against  the  encroaching  authority  of  the  mother  country. 
There  is  much  contemporaneous  evidence  to  show 
that  Patrick  Henry  was  throughout  life  a  deeply  relig 
ious  person.  It  certainly  speaks  well  for  his  intellect 
ual  fibre,  as  well  as  for  his  spiritual  tendencies,  that  his 
favorite  book,  during  the  larger  part  of  his  life,  was 

1  Win,  9. 

2  Wirt,  13.     This  is  the  passage  on  which  Jefferson,  in  his  extreme 
old  age,*made  the  characteristically  inaccurate  comment:    "His  biog 
rapher  says,  '  He  read  Plutarch  every  year.'     I  doubt  if  he  ever  read 
a  volume  of  it  in  his  life."     Curtis,  Life  of  Webster,  i.  585. 


18  PATRICK  HENRY. 

•'  Butler's  Analogy,"  which  was  first  published  in  the 
very  year  in  which  he  was  born.  It  is  possible  that 
even  during  these  years  of  his  early  manhood  he  had 
begun  his  enduring  intimacy  with  that  robust  book. 
Moreover,  we  can  hardly  err  in  saying  that  he  had  then 
also  become  a  steady  reader  of  the  English  Bible,  the 
diction  of  which  is  stamped  upon  his  style  as  unmis 
takably  as  it  is  upon  that  of  the  elder  Pitt. 

Such,  I  think  it  may  fairly  be  said,  was  Patrick 
Henry  when,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  having  failed 
in  every  other  pursuit,  he  turned  for  bread  to  the  pro 
fession  of  the  law.  There  is  no  evidence  that  either  he 
or  any  other  mortal  man  was  aware  of  the  extraordi 
nary  gifts  that  lay  within  him  for  success  in  that  career. 
Not  a  scholar  surely,  not  even  a  considerable  miscella 
neous  reader,  he  yet  had  the  basis  of  a  good  education ; 
he  had  the  habit  of  reading  over  and  over  again  a  few 
of  the  best  books ;  he  had  a  good  memory ;  he  had  an 
intellect  strong  to  grasp  the  great  commanding  features 
of  Huy  subject ;  he  had  a  fondness  for  the  study  of  hu 
man  nature,  and  singular  proficiency  in  that  branch  of 
science ;  he  had  quick  and  warm  sympathies,  particu 
larly  with  persons  in  trouble,  —  an  invincible  propensity 
to  take  sides  with  the  under-dog  in  any  fight.  Through 
a  long  experience  in  off-hand  talk  with  the  men  whom  he 
had  thus  far  chiefly  known  in  his  little  provincial  world, 
—  with  an  occasional  clergyman,  pedagogue,  or  legisla 
tor,  small  planters  and  small  traders,  sportsmen,  loafers, 
slaves  and  the  drivers  of  slaves,  and,  more  than  all, 
those  bucolic  Solons  of  old  Virginia,  the  good-humored, 
illiterate,  thriftless  Caucasian  consumers  of  tobacco  and 
whiskey,  who,  cordially  consenting  that  all  the  hard 
work  of  the  world  should  be  done  by  the  children  of 


WAS  HE  ILLITERATE?  19 

Ham,  were  thus  left  free  to  commune  together  in  end 
less  debate  on  the  tavern  porch  or  on  the  shady  side 
of  the  country  store,  —  young  Patrick  had  learned 
somewhat  of  the  lawyer's  art  of  putting  things ;  he 
could  make  men  laugh,  could  make  them  serious,  could 
set  fire  to  their  enthusiasms.  What  more  he  might  d° 
with  such  gifts  nobody  seems  to  have  guessed;  very 
likely  few  gave  it  any  thought  at  all.  In  that  rugged 
but  munificent  profession  at  whose  outward  gates  he 
then  proceeded  to  knock,  it  was  altogether  improbable 
that  he  would  burden  himself  with  much  more  of  its 
erudition  than  was  really  necessary  for  a  successful  gen 
eral  practice  in  Virginia  in  his  time,  or  that  he  would 
permanently  content  himself  with  less. 


CHAPTER   III. 

BECOMES    A    LAWYER. 

SOME  time  in  the  early  spring  of  17 GO,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  then  a  lad  in  the  College  of  William  and 
Mary,  was  surprised  by  the  arrival  in  Williamsburg 
of  his  jovial  acquaintance,  Patrick  Henry,  and  still 
more  by  the  announcement  of  the  latter  that,  in  the 
brief  interval  since  their  merry-makings  together  at 
Hanover,  he  had  found  time  to  study  law,  and  had 
actually  come  up  to  the  capital  to  seek  an  admission  to 
the  bar. 

In  the  accounts  that  we  have  from  Henry's  con 
temporaries  respecting  the  length  of  time  during  which 
he  was  engaged  in  preparing  for  his  legal  examination, 
there  are  certain  discrepancies,  —  some  of  these  ac 
counts  saying  that  it  was  nine  months,  others  six  or 
eight  months,  others  six  weeks.  Henry  himself  told  a 
friend  that  his  original  study  of  the  law  lasted  only  one 
month,  and  consisted  in  the  reading  of  Coke  upon 
Littleton  and  of  the  Virginia  laws.1 

Concerning  the  encounter  of  this  obscure  and  raw 
country  youth  with  the  accomplished  men  who  examined 
him  as  to  his  fitness  to  receive  a  license  to  practise  law, 
there  are  three  primary  narratives,  —  two  by  JeffeVson, 
and  a  third  by  Judge  John  Tyler.  In  his  famous  talk 
with  Daniel  Webster  and  the  Ticknors  at  Monticette* 
i  Wirt,  16. 


BECOMES  A  LAWYER.  21 

in  1824,  Jefferson  said  :  "  There  were  four  examiners, 
—  Wy the,  Pendleton,  Peyton  Randolph,  arid  John  Ran 
dolph.  Wythe  and  Pendleton  at  once  rejected  his 
application  ;  the  two  Randolphs  were,  by  his  impor 
tunity,  prevailed  upon  to  sign  the  license  ;  and,  having 
obtained  their  signatures,  he  again  applied  to  Pendle 
ton,  and  after  much  entreaty,  and  many  promises  of 
future  study,  succeeded  also  in  obtaining  his.  He  then 
turned  out  for  a  practising  lawyer."  ] 

In  a  memorandum2  prepared  nearly  ten  years  before 
the  conversation  just  mentioned,  Jefferson  described 
somewhat  differently  the  incidents  of  Henry's  examina 
tion  :  — 

"  Two  of  the  examiners,  however,  Peyton  and  John 
Randolph,  men  of  great  facility  of  temper,  signed  his 
license  with  as  much  reluctance  as  their  dispositions 
would  permit  them  to  show.  Mr.  Wythe  absolutely 
refused.  Rob.  C.  Nicholas  refused  also  at  first ;  but  on 
repeated  importunities,  and  promises  of  future  reading, 
he  signed.  These  facts  I  had  afterwards  from  the 
gentlemen  themselves  ;  the  two  Randolphs  acknowledg 
ing  he  was  very  ignorant  of  law,  but  that  they  perceived 
him  to  be  a  young  man  of  genius,  and  did  not  doubt 
he  would  soon  qualify  himself."  3 

Long  afterward,  and  when  all  this  anxious  affair  had 
become  for  Patrick  Henry  an  amusing  thing  of  the  past, 
he  himself,  in  the  confidence  of  an  affectionate  friend 
ship,  seems  to  have  related  one  remarkable  phase  of 
his  experience  to  Judge  John  Tyler,  by  whom  it  was 

1  Curtis,  Life  of  Webster,  i.  584. 

2  First  printed  in  the  Philadelphia  Age,  in  1867  ;  and  again  printed, 
from  the  original  manuscript,  in  The  Historical  Magazine,  August, 
1867,  90-93.     I  quote  from  the  latter. 

8  Jefferson's  memorandum,  Hist.  Mag.  for  August,  1867,  90. 


22  PATRICK  HENRY. 

given  to  Wirt.  One  of  the  examiners  was  "  Mr.  John 
Randolph,  who  was  afterwards  the  king's  attorney-gen 
eral  for  the  colony, — a  gentleman  of  the  most  courtly 
elegance  of  person  and  manners,  a  polished  wit,  and  a 
profound  lawyer.  At  first,  he  was  so  much  shocked  by 
Mr.  Henry's  very  ungainly  figure  and  address,  that  he 
refused  to  examine  him.  Understanding,  however,  that 
he  had  already  obtained  two  signatures,  he  entered  with 
manifest  reluctance  on  the  business.  A  very  short  time 
was  sufficient  to  satisfy  him  of  the  erroneous  conclusion 
which  he  had  drawn  from  the  exterior  of  the  candidate. 
"With  evident  marks  of  increasing  surprise  (produced, 
no  doubt,  by  the  peculiar  texture  and  strength  of  Mr. 
Henry's  style,  and  the  boldness  and  originality  of  his 
combinations),  he  continued  the  examination  for  several 
hours ;  interrogating  the  candidate,  not  on  the  princi 
ples  of  municipal  law,  in  which  he  no  doubt  soon  dis 
covered  his  deficiency,  but  on  the  laws  of  nature  and  of 
nations,  on  the  policy  of  the  feudal  system,  and  on  gen 
eral  history,  which  last  he  found  to  be  his  stronghold. 
During  the  very  short  portion  of  the  examination  which 
was  devoted  to  the  common  law,  Mr.  Randolph  dis 
sented,  or  affected  to  dissent,  from  one  of  Mr.  Henry's 
answers,  and  called  upon  him  to  assign  the  reasons  of 
his  opinion.  This  produced  an  argument,  and  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  now  played  off  on  him  the  same  arts  which  he 
himself  had  so  often  practised  on  his  country  customers  ; 
drawing  him  out  by  questions,  endeavoring  to  puzzle  him 
by  subtleties,  assailing  him  with  declamation,  and  watch 
ing  continually  the  defensive  operations  of  his  mind. 
After  a  considerable  discussion,  he  said,  fYou  defend 
your  opinions  well,  sir ;  but  now  to  the  law  and  to  the 
testimony.'  Hereupon  he  carried  him  to  his  office, 


BECOMES  A  LAWYER.  23 

and,  opening  the  authorities,  said  to  him  :  *  Behold  the 
force  of  natural  reason  !  You  have  never  seen  these 
books,  nor  this  principle  of  the  law ;  yet  you  are  right 
and  I  am  wrong.  And  from  the  lesson  which  you  have 
given  me  (you  must  excuse  me  for  saying  it)  I  will 
never  trust  to  appearances  again.  Mr.  Henry,  if  your 
industry  be  only  half  equal  to  your  genius,  I  augur  that 
you  will  do  well,  and  become  an  ornament  and  an 
honor  to  your  profession." l 

After  such  an  ordeal  at  Williamsburg,  the  young  man 
must  have  ridden  back  to  Hanover  with  some  natural 
elation  over  his  success,  but  that  elation  not  a  little 
tempered  by  serious  reflection  upon  his  own  deficiencies 
as  a  lawyer,  and  by  an  honest  purpose  to  correct  them. 
Certainly  nearly  everything  that  was  dear  to  him  in  life 
must  then  have  risen  before  his  eyes,  and  have  incited 
him  to  industry  in  the  further  study  of  his  profession. 

At  that  time,  his  father-in-law  had  become  the  keeper 
of  a  tavern  in  Hanover  ;  and  for  the  next  two  or  three 
years,  while  he  was  rapidly  making  his  way  to  compe 
tence  as  a  general  practitioner  of  the  law  in  that  neigh- 
borhood,  Patrick  seems  to  have  made  this  tavern  his 
home.  It  was  in  this  way,  undoubtedly,  that  he  some 
times  acted  as  host,  especially  in  the  absence  of  his 
father-in-law,  —  receiving  all  comers,  and  providing  for 
their  entertainment ;  and  it  was  from  this  circumstance 
that  the  tradition  arose,  as  Jefferson  bluntly  expressed 
it,  that  Patrick  Henry  "  was  originally  a  bar-keeper,"  a 
or,  as  it  is .  more  vivaciously  expressed  by  a  recent 
writer,  that  "  for  three  years  "  after  getting  his  license 
to  practise  law,  he  "  tended  travellers  and  drew  corks."  8 

1  Wirt,  16,  17.  2  Curtis,  Life  of  Webster,  i.  584. 

»  McMaster,  Hist,  of  U.  S.,  I  489. 


24  PATRICK  HENRY. 

These  statements,  however,  are  a  coarse  exaggeration 
of  the  fact  that,  while  living  for  a  time  in  the  tavern  of 
his  father-in-law,  he  had  the  good  sense  and  the  good 
feeling  to  lend  a  hand,  in  case  of  need,  in  the  business  of 
the  house  ;  and  that  no  more  than  this  is  true  may  be 
proved,  not  only  from  the  written  testimony  of  survi 
vors,1  who  knew  him  in  those  days,  but  from  the  con 
temporary  records,  carefully  kept  by  himself,  of  his  own 
earliest  business  as  a  lawyer.  These  records  show  that, 
almost  at  once  after  receiving  his  license  to  practise  law, 
he  must  have  been  fully  occupied  with  the  appropriate 
business  of  his  profession. 

It  is  quite  apparent,  also,  from  the  evidence  just  re 
ferred  to,  that  the  common  history  of  his  life  has,  in  an 
other  particular,  done  great  injustice  to  this  period  of  it. 
According  to  the  recollection  of  one  old  man  who  out 
lived  him,  "  he  was  not  distinguished  at  the  bar  for  near 
four  years."2  Wirt  himself,  relying  upon  the  state 
ments  of  several  survivors  of  Patrick  Henry,  speaks 
of  his  lingering  "  in  the  background  for  three  years," 
and  of  "  the  profits  of  his  practice  "  as  being  so  inade 
quate  for  the  supply  of  even  "  the  necessaries  of  life," 
that  "  for  the  first  two  or  three  years  "  he  was  living 
with  his  family  in  dependence  upon  his  father-in-law.8 
Fortunately,  however,  we  are  not  left  in  this  case  to 
grope  our  way  toward  the  truth  amid  the  ruins  of  the 
confused  and  decaying  memories  of  old  men.  Since 
TVirt's  time,  there  have  come  to  light  the  fee-books  of 
Patrick  Henry,  carefully  and  neatly  kept  by  him  from 
the  beginning  of  his  practice,  and  covering  nearly  his 

1  I  have  carefully  examined  this  testimony,  which  is  still  in  manu 
script, 
a  Judge  Winston,  MS.  »  Wirt,  18,  19. 


BECOMES  A  LAWYER.  25 

entire  professional  life  down  to  old  age.1  The  first 
entry  in  these  books  is  for  September,  1760  ;  and  from 
that  date  onward  to  the  end  of  the  year  1763,  —  by 
which  time  he  had  suddenly  sprung  into  great  pro 
fessional  prominence  by  his  speech  in  "  the  Parsons' 
Cause,"  —  he  is  found  to  have  charged  fees  in  1,185 
suits,  besides  many  other  fees  for  the  preparation  of 
legal  papers  out  of  court.  From  about  the  time  of  his 
speech  in  "  the  Parsons'  Cause,"  as  his  fee-books  show, 
his  practice  became  enormous,  and  so  continued  to  the 
end  of  his  days,  excepting  when  public  duties  or  broken 
health  compelled  him  to  turn  away  clients.  Thus  it  is 
apparent  that,  while  the  young  lawyer  did  not  attain 
anything  more  than  local  professional  reputation  until 
his  speech  against  the  parsons,  he  did  acquire  a  very 
considerable  practice  almost  immediately  after  his  ad 
mission  to  the  bar.  Moreover,  so  far  from  his  being  a 
needy  dependant  on  his  father-in-law  for  the  first  two 
or  three  years,  the  same  quiet  records  show  that  his 
practice  enabled  him,  even  during  that  early  period, 
to  assist  his  father-in-law  by  an  important  advance  of 
money. 

The  fiction  that  Patrick  Henry,  during  the  first  three 
or  four  years  of  his  nominal  career  as  a  lawyer,  was  a 
briefless  barrister,  —  earning  his  living  at  the  bar  of  aj 
tavern  rather  than  at  the  bar  of  justice,  —  is  the  very 
least  of  those  disparaging  myths,  which,  through  the 
frailty  of  human  memory  and  the  bitterness  of  partisan 
ill-will,  have  been  permitted  to  settle  upon  his  reputa 
tion.  Certainly,  no  one  would  think  it  discreditable,  or 
even  surprising,  if  Patrick  Henry,  while  still  a  very 

1  These  fee-books  are  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  William  Wirt 
Henry,  of  Richmond. 


26  PATRICK  IIENRY. 

young  lawyer,  should  have  had  little  or  no  practice,  pro 
vided  only  that,  when  the  practice  did  come,  the  young 
lawyer  had  shown  himself  to  have  been  a  good  one.  It 
is  precisely  this  honor  which,  during  the  past  seventy 
years,  has  been  denied  him.  Upon  the  evidence  thus 
far  most  prominently  before  the  public,  one  is  com 
pelled  to  conceive  of  him  as  having  been  destitute  of 
nearly  all  the  qualifications  of  a  good  lawyer,  excepting 
those  which  give  success  with  juries,  particularly  in 
criminal  practice :  he  is  represented  as  ignorant  of  the 
law,  indolent,  and  grossly  negligent  of  business,  —  with 
nothing,  in  fact,  to  give  him  the  least  success  in  the  pro 
fession  but  an  abnormal  and  quite  unaccountable  gift  of 
persuasion  through  speech. 

Referring  to  this  period  of  his  life,  Wirt  says :  "  Of 
the  science  of  law  he  knew  almost  nothing ;  of  the 
practical  part  he  was  so  wholly  ignorant  that  he  was 
not  only  unable  to  draw  a  declaration  or  a  plea,  but  in 
capable,  it  is  said,  of  the  most  common  or  simple  busi 
ness  of  his  profession,  even  of  the  mode  of  ordering 
a  suit,  giving  a  notice,  or  making  a  motion  in  court." l 
This  conception  of  Henry's  professional  character,  to 
which  Wirt  seems  to  have  come  reluctantly,  was  founded, 
as  is  now  evident,  on  the  long-suppressed  memorandum 
of  Jefferson,  who  therein  states  that,  after  failing  in 
merchandise,  Patrick  "  turned  his  views  to  the  law,  for 
the  acquisition  or  practice  of  which,  however,  he  was 
too  lazy.  Whenever  the  courts  were  closed  for  the 
winter  session,  he  would  make  up  a  party  of  poor 
hunters  of  his  neighborhood,  would  go  off  with  them  to 
the  piny  woods  of  Fluvamia,  and  pass  weeks  in  hunting 
deer,  of  which  he  was  passionately  fond,  sleeping  under 
i  Wirt,  18. 


BECOMES   A   LAWYER.  27 

a  tent  before  a  fire,  wearing  the  same  shirt  the  whole 
time,  and  covering  all  the  dirt  of  his  dress  with  a  hunt 
ing-shirt.  He  never  undertook  to  draw  pleadings,  if  he 
could  avoid  it,  or  to  manage  that  part  of  a  cause,  and 
very  unwillingly  engaged  but  as  an  assistant  to  speak 
in  the  cause.  And  the  fee  was  an  indispensable  pre 
liminary,  observing  to  the  applicant  that  he  kept  no 
accounts,  never  putting  pen  to  paper,  which  was  true."  * 
The  last  sentence  of  this  passage,  in  which  Jefferson 
declares  that  it  was  true  that  Henry  "  kept  no  accounts, 
never  putting  pen  to  paper,"  is,  of  course,  now  utterly 
set  aside  by  the  discovery  of  the  precious  fee-books  ; 
and  these  orderly  and  circumstantial  records  almost  as 
completely  annihilate  the  trustworthiness  of  all  the  rest 
of  the  passage.  Let  us  consider,  for  example,  Jeffer 
son's  statement  that  for  the  acquisition  of  the  law,  or  for 
the  practice  of  it,  Henry  was  too  lazy,  and  that  much 
of  the  time  between  the  sessions  of  the  courts  was 
passed  by  him  in  deer-hunting  in  the  woods.  Confining 
ourselves  to  the  first  three  and  a  half  years  of  his  actual 
practice,  in  which,  by  the  record,  his  practice  was  the 
smallest  that  he  ever  had,  it  is  not  easy  for  one  to  un 
derstand  how  a  mere  novice  in  the  profession,  and  one 
so  perfectly  ignorant  of  its  most  rudimental  forms, 
could  have  earned,  during  that  brief  period,  the  fees 
which  he  charged  in  1,185  suits,  and  in  the  preparation 
of  many  legal  papers  out  of  court,  and  still  have  been 
seriously  addicted  to  laziness.  Indeed,  if  so  much  legal 
business  could  have  been  transacted  within  three  years 
and  a  half,  by  a  lawyer  who,  besides  being  young  and 
incompetent,  was  also  extremely  lazy,  and  greatly  pre 
ferred  to  go  off  to  the  woods  and  hunt  for  deer  while 
1  Hist.  Mag.  for  1867,  93. 


28  PATRICK  HENRY. 

his  clients  were  left  to  hunt  in  vain  for  him,  it  becomes 
an  interesting  question  just  how  much  legal  business 
we  ought  to  expect  to  be  done  by  a  young  lawyer  who 
was  not  incompetent,  was  not  lazy,  and  had  no  inordi 
nate  fondness  for  deer-hunting.  It  happens  that  young 
Thomas  Jefferson  himself  was  just  such  a  lawyer.  He 
began  practice  exactly  seven  years  after  Patrick  Henry, 
and  at  precisely  the  same  time  of  life,  though  under 
external  circumstances  far  more  favorable.  As  a  proof 
of  his  uncommon  zeal  and  success  in  the  profession,  his 
biographer,  Randall,  cites  from  Jefferson's  fee-books  the 
number  of  cases  in  which  he  was  employed  until  he 
was  finally  drawn  off  from  the  law  into  political  life. 
Oddly  enough,  for  the  first  four  years  of  his  practice, 
the  cases  registered  by  Jefferson  1  number,  in  all,  but 
504.  It  should  be  mentioned  that  this  number,  as  it 
includes  only  Jefferson's  cases  in  the  General  Court, 
does  not  indicate  all  the  business  done  by  him  during 
those  first  four  years  ;  and  yet,  even  with  this  allow 
ance,  we  are  left  standing  rather  helpless  before  the 
problem  presented  by  the  fact  that  this  competent  and 
diligent  young  lawyer  —  whom,  forsooth,  the  rustling 
leaves  of  the  forest  could  never  for  once  entice  from  the 
rustle  of  the  leaves  of  his  law-books  —  did  nevertheless 
transact,  during  his  own  first  four  years  of  practice,  prob 
ably  less  than  one  half  as  much  business  as  seems  to 
have  been  done  during  a  somewhat  shorter  space  of 
time  by  our  poor,  ignorant,  indolent,  slovenly,  client- 
shunning  and  forest-haunting  Patrick. 

But,  if  Jefferson's  charge  of   professional  indolence 
and  neglect  on  the  part  of  his  early  friend  fares  rather 
ill  when  tested  by  those  minute  and  plodding  records  of 
l  Randall,  Life  ofJe/erson,  i.  47,  48. 


BECOMES  A  LAWYER.  29 

his  professional  employments  which  were  kept  by  Pat 
rick  Henry,  a  fate  not  much  more  prosperous  overtakes 
Jefferson's  other  charge,  —  that  of  professional  incom 
petence.  It  is  more  than  intimated  by  Jefferson  that, 
even  had  Patrick  been  disposed  to  engage  in  a  general 
law  practice,  he  did  not  know  enough  to  do  so  success 
fully  by  reason  of  his  ignorance  of  the  most  ordinary 
legal  principles  and  legal  forms.  But  the  intellectual 
embarrassment  which  one  experiences  in  trying  to  ac 
cept  this  view  of  Patrick  Henry  arises  from  the  simple 
fact  that  these  incorrigible  fee-books  show  that  it  was 
precisely  this  general  law  practice  that  he  did  engage 
in,  both  in  court  and  out  of  court ;  a  practice  only  a 
small  portion  of  which  was  criminal,  the  larger  part  of 
it  consisting  of  the  ordinary  suits  in  country  litigation  ; 
a  practice  which  certainly  involved  the  drawing  of 
pleadings,  and  the  preparation  of  many  sorts  of  legal 
papers ;  a  practice,  moreover,  which  he  seems  to  have 
acquired  with  extraordinary  rapidity,  and  to  have  main 
tained  with  increasing  success  as  long  as  he  cared  for 
it.  These  are  items  of  history  which  are  likely  to 
burden  the  ordinary  reader  with  no  little  perplexity,  —  a 
perplexity  the  elements  of  which  are  thus  modestly 
stated  by  a  living  grandson  of  Patrick  Henry :  "  How 
he  acquired  or  retained  a  practice  so  large  and  con 
tinually  increasing,  so  perfectly  unfit  for  it  as  Mr.  Jef 
ferson  represents  him,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand." 1 

As  we  go  further  in  the  study  of  this  man's  life,  we 
shall  have  before  us  ample  materials  for  dealing  still 
further  and  still  more  definitely  with  the  subject  of  his 
professional  character,  as  that  character  itself  became 

i  William  Wirt  Henry,  Character  and  Public  Career  of  Patrick 
Henry,  3. 


30  PATRICK  HENRY. 

developed  and  matured.  Meantime,  however,  the  evi 
dence  already  in  view  seems  quite  enough  to  enable  us 
to  form  a  tolerably  clear  notion  of  the  sort  of  lawyer 
he  was  down  to  the  end  of  1763,  which  may  be  regarded 
as  the  period  of  his  novitiate  at  the  bar.  It  is  perfectly 
evident  that,  at  the  time  of  his  admission  to  the  bar,  he 
knew  very  little  of  the  law,  either  in  its  principles  or 
in  its  forms:  he  knew  no  more  than  could  have  been 
learned  by  a  young  man  of  genius  in  the  course  of  four 
weeks  in  the  study  of  Coke  upon  Littleton,  and  of  the 
laws  of  Virginia.  If,  now,  we  are  at  liberty  to  suppose 
that  his  study  of  the  law  then  ceased,  we  may  accept  the 
view  of  his  professional  incompetence  held  up  by  Jef 
ferson  ;  but  precisely  that  is  what  we  are  not  at  liberty 
to  suppose.  All  the  evidence,  fairly  sifted,  warrants, 
the  belief  that,  on  his  return  to  Hanover  with  his  license 
to  practise  law,  he  used  the  next  few  months  in  the 
further  study  of  it ;  and  that  thenceforward,  just  so  fast 
as  professional  business  came  to  his  hands,  he  tried  to 
qualify  himself  to  do  that  business,  and  to  do  it  so  well 
that  his  clients  should  be  inclined  to  come  to  him  again 
in  case  of  need.  Patrick  Henry's  is  not  the  first  case, 
neither  is  it  the  last  one,  of  a  man  coming  to  the  bar 
miserably  unqualified  for  its  duties,  but  afterward  be 
coming  well  qualified.  We  need  not  imagine,  we  do 
not  imagine,  that  he  ever  became  a  man  of  great  learn 
ing  in  the  law  ;  but  we  do  find  it  impossible  to  believe 
that  he  continued  to  be  a  man  of  great  ignorance  in  it. 
The  law,  indeed,  is  the  one  profession  on  earth  in  which 
such  success  as  he  is  proved  to  have  had,  is  impossible 
to  such  incompetence  as  he  is  said  to  have  had.  More 
over,  in  trying  to  form  a  just  idea  of  Patrick  Henry,  it 
is  never  safe  to  forget  that  we  have  to  do  with  a  man 


BECOMES   A   LAWYER.  31 

of  genius,  and  that  the  ways  by  which  a  man  of  genius 
reaches  his  results  are  necessarily  his  own,  —  are  often 
invisible,  are  always  somewhat  mysterious,  to  the  rest 
of  us.  The  genius  of  Patrick  Henry  was  powerful,  in 
tuitive,  swift ;  by  a  glance  of  the  eye  he  could  take  in 
what  an  ordinary  man  might  spend  hours  in  toiling  for ; 
his  memory  held  whatever  was  once  committed  to  it  j 
all  his  resources  were  at  instant  command  ;  his  faculty 
for  debate,  his  imagination,  humor,  tact,  diction,  elocu 
tion,  were  rich  and  exquisite  ;  he  was  also  a  man  of  hu 
man  and  friendly  ways,  whom  all  men  loved,  and  whom 
all  men  wanted  to  help  ;  and  it  would  not  have  been 
strange  if  he  actually  fitted  himself  for  the  successful 
practice  of  such  law  business  as  was  then  to  be  had  in 
Virginia,  and  actually  entered  upon  its  successful  prac 
tice  with  a  quickness  the  exact  processes  of  which 
were  unperceived  even  by  his  nearest  neighbors. 


CHAPTER  IVe 

A  CELEBRATED  CASE. 

THUS  Patrick  Henry  had  been  for  nearly  four  years 
in  the  practice  of  the  law,  with  a  vigor  and  a  success 
quite  extraordinary,  when,  late  in  the  year  1763,  he 
became  concerned  in  a  case  so  charged  with  popular 
interest,  and  so  well  suited  to  the  display  of  his  own 
marvellous  genius  as  an  advocate,  as  to  make  both  him 
and  his  case  immediately  celebrated. 

The  side  upon  which  he  was  retained  happened  to 
be  the  wrong  side,  —  wrong  both  in  law  and  in  equity ; 
having  only  this  element  of  strength  in  it,  namely, 
that  by  a  combination  of  circumstances  there  were  en 
listed  in  its  favor  precisely  those  passions  of  the  multi 
tude  which  are  the  most  selfish,  the  most  blinding,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  most  energetic.  It  only  needed 
an  advocate  skilful  enough  to  play  effectively  upon 
these  passions',  and  a  storm  would  be  raised  before 
which  mere  considerations  of  law  and  of  equity  would 
be  swept  out  of  sight. 

In  order  to  understand  the  real  issue  presented  by 
"  the  Parsons'  Cause,"  and  consequently  the  essential 
weakness  of  the  side  to  the  service  of  which  our  young 
lawyer  was  now  summoned,  we  shall  need  to  turn  about 
and  take  a  brief  tour  into  the  earlier  history  of  Virginia. 
In  that  colony,  from  the  beginning,  the  Church  of  Eng 
land  was  established  by  law,  and  was  supported,  like 


A   CELEBRATED    CASE.  33 

any  other  institution  of  the  government,  by  revenues 
derived  from  taxation,  —  taxation  levied  in  this  case 
upon  nearly  all  persons  in  the  colony  above  the  age 
of  sixteen  years.  Moreover,  those  local  subdivisions 
which,  in  the  Northern  colonies,  were  called  towns,  in 
Virginia  were  called  parishes  ;  and  accordingly,  in  the 
latter,  the  usual  local  officers  who  manage  the  public 
business  for  each  civil  neighborhood  were  called,  not 
selectmen  or  supervisors,  as  at  the  North,  but  vestry 
men.  Among  the  functions  conferred  by  the  law  upon 
these  local  officers  in  Virginia  was  that  of  hiring  the 
rector  or  minister,  and  of  paying  him  his  salary  ;  and 
the  same  authority  which  gave  to  the  vestry  this  power 
fixed  likewise  the  precise  amount  of  salary  which  they 
were  to  pay.  Ever  since  the  early  days  of  the  colony, 
this  amount  had  been  stated,  not  in  money,  which 
hardly  existed  there,  but  in  tobacco,  which  was  the 
staple  of  the  colony.  Sometimes  the  market  value  of 
tobacco  would  be  very  low,  —  so  low  that  the  portion 
paid  to  the  minister  would  yield  a  sum  quite  insuffi 
cient  for  his  support ;  and  on  such  occasions,  prior  to 
1692,  the  parishes  had  often  kindly  made  up  for  such 
depreciation  by  voluntarily  paying  an  extra  quantity 
of  tobacco.1  After  1692,  however,  for  reasons  which 
need  not  now  be  detailed,  this  generous  custom  seems  to 
have  disappeared.  For  example,  from  1709  to  1714,  the 
price  of  tobacco  was  so  low  as  to  make  its  shipment  to 
England,  in  many  instances,  a  positive  loss  to  its  owner; 
while  the  sale  of  it  on  the  spot  was  so  disadvantageous 
as  to  reduce  the  minister's  salary  to  about  £25  a  year, 
as  reckoned  in  the  depreciated  paper  currency  of  the 
colony.  Of  course,  during  those  years,  the  distress  of 
1  Perry,  Hist.  Coll.,  i.  12. 


34  PATRICK   HENRY. 

the  clergy  was  very  great ;  but,  whatever  it  may  have 
been,  they  were  permitted  to  bear  it,  without  any  sug 
gestion,  either  from  the  legislature  or  from  the  vestries, 
looking  toward  the  least  addition  to  the  quantity  of 
tobacco  then  to  be  paid  them.  On  the  other  hand,  from 
1714  to  1720,  the  price  of  tobacco  rose  considerably 
above  the  average,  and  did  something  towards  making 
up  to  the  clergy  the  losses  which  they  had  recently 
incurred.  Then,  again,  from  1720  to  1724,  tobacco 
fell  to  the  low  price  of  the  former  period,  and  of  course 
with  the  same  results  of  unrelieved  loss  to  the  clergy.1 
Thus,  howev^-,  in  the  process  of  time,  there  had  be 
come  established,  in  the  fiscal  relations  of  each  vestry 
to  its  minister,  a  rough  but  obvious  system  of  fair  play. 
When  the  price  of  tobacco  was  down,  the  parson  was 
expected  to  suffer  the  loss  ;  when  the  price  of  tobacco 
was  up,  he  was  allowed  to  enjoy  the  gain.  Probably 
it  did  not  then  occur  to  any  one  that  a  majority  of  the 
good  people  of  Virginia  could  ever  be  brought  to  de 
mand  such  a  mutilation  of  justice  as  would  be  involved 
in  depriving  the  parson  of  the  occasional  advantage 
of  a  very  good  market,  and  of  making  up  for  this  by 
always  leaving  him  in  the  undisturbed  enjoyment  of 
every  occasional  bad  one.  Yet  it  was  just  this  mutila 
tion  of  justice  which,  only  a  few  years  later,  a  majority 
of  the  good  people  of  Virginia  were  actually  brought  to 
demand,  and  which,  by  the  youthful  genius  of  Patrick 
Henry,  they  were  too  well  aided  in  effecting. 

Returning   now  from    our   brief   tour  into  a  period 

of  Virginian  history  just  prior  to  that  upon  which  we 

are   at  present  engaged,  we   find  ourselves  arrived  at 

the  year  1748,  in  which  year   the  legislature  of  Vir. 

i  Perry,  Hist.  Coll.,  316,  317. 


A   CELEBRATED   CASE.  35 

ginia,  revising  all  previous  regulations  respecting  the 
hiring  and  paying  of  the  clergy,  passed  an  act,  di 
recting  that  every  parish  minister  should  "  receive  an 
annual  salary  of  16,000  pounds  of  tobacco,  ...  to  be 
levied,  assessed,  collected,  and  paid "  by  the  vestry. 
"  And  if  the  vestry  of  any  parish  "  should  "  neglect  or 
refuse  to  levy  the  tobacco  due  to  the  minister,"  they 
should  "be  liable  to  the  action  of  the  party  grieved 
.  .  .  for  all  damages  which  he  ...  shall  sustain  by 
such  refusal  or  neglect."  l  This  act  of  the  colonial 
legislature,  having  been  duly  approved  by  the  king, 
became  a  law,  and  consequently  was  not  liable  to  repeal 
or  even  to  suspension  except  by  the  king's  approval. 
Thus,  at  the  period  now  reached,  there  was  between 
every  vestry  and  its  minister  a  valid  contract  for  the 
annual  payment,  by  the  former  to  the  latter,  of  that 
particular  quantity  of  tobacco,  —  the  clergy  to  take 
their  chances  as  to  the  market  value  of  the  product 
from  year  to  year. 

Thus  matters  ran  on  until  1755,  when,  by  reason  of 
a  diminished  crop  of  tobacco,  the  legislature  passed  an 
option  law,2  virtually  suspending  for  the  next  ten 
months  the  Act  of  1748,  and  requiring  the  clergy,  at 
the  option  of  the  vestries,  to  receive  their  salaries  for 
that  year,  not  in  tobacco,  but  in  the  depreciated  paper 
currency  of  the  colony,  at  the  rate  of  two  pence  for 
each  pound  of  tobacco  due,  —  a  price  somewhat  below 
the  market  value  of  the  article  for  that  year.  Most 
clearly  this  act,  which  struck  an  arbitrary  blow  at  the 
validity  of  all  contracts  in  Virginia,  was  one  which  ex 
ceeded  the  constitutional  authority  of  the  legislature ; 

1  Hening,  Statutes  at  Large,  vi.  88,  89. 

2  Ibid.  vi.  568,  569. 


36  PATRICK  HENRY. 

since  it  suspended, "without  the  royal  approval,  a  law 
which  had  been  regularly  ratified  by  the  king.  How 
ever,  the  operation  of  this  act  was  shrewdly  limited  to 
ten  months,  —  a  period  just  long  enough  to  accomplish 
its  object,  but  too  short  for  the  royal  intervention 
against  it  to  be  of  any  direct  avail.  Under  these  cir 
cumstances,  the  clergy  bore  their  losses  for  that  year 
with  some  murmuring  indeed,  but  without  any  formal 
protest.1 

Just  three  years  afterward,  in  1758,  the  legislature, 
with  even  less  excuse  than  before,  passed  an  act2  similar 
to  that  of  1755,  —  its  force,  however,  being  limited  to 
twelve  months.  The  operation  of  this  act,  as  affecting 
each  parish  minister,  may  be  conveyed  in  very  few 
words.  In  lieu  of  what  was  due  him  under  the  law  for 
his  year's  services,  namely,  1  G,000  pounds  of  tobacco, 
the  market  value  of  which  for  the  year  in  question 
proved  to  be  about  £400  sterling,  it  compelled  him  to 
take,  in  the  paper  money  of  the  colony,  the  sum  of 
about  £133.  To  make  matters  still  worse,  while  the 
tobacco  which  was  due  him  was  an  instant  and  an  ad 
vantageous  medium  of  exchange  everywhere,  and  espe 
cially  in  England  whence  nearly  all  his  merchant  sup 
plies  were  obtained,  this  paper  money  that  was  forced 
upon  him  was  a  depreciated  currency  even  within  the 
colony,  and  absolutely  worthless  outside  of  it ;  so  that 
the  poor  parson,  who  could  never  demand  his  salary  for 
any  year  until  six  full  months  after  its  close,  would 
have  proffered  to  him,  at  the  end,  perhaps,  of  another 
six  months,  just  one  third  of  the  nominal  sum  due  him, 
and  that  in  a  species  of  money  of  no  value  at  all  except 

1  Perry,  Hist.  Coll.,  \.  508,  509. 

2  Hening,  Statutes  at  Large,  vii.  240,  241. 


A   CELEBRATED   CASE.  37 

in  Virginia,  and  even  in  Virginia  of  'a  purchasing  value 
not  exceeding  that  of  £20  sterling  in  England.1 

Nor,  in  justification  of  such  a  measure,  could  it  be 
truthfully  said  that  there  was  at  that  time  in  the  colony 
any  general  "  dearth  and  scarcity," 2  or  any  such  pub 
lic  distress  of  any  sort  as  might  overrule  the  ordinary 
maxims  of  justice,  and  excuse,  in  the  name  of  humanity, 
a  merely  technical  violation  of  law.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  only  "  dearth  and  scarcity  "  in  Virginia  that 
year  was  "confined  to  one  or  two  counties  on  James 
River,  and  that  entirely  owing  to  their  own  fault "  ; 3 
wherever  there  was  any  failure  of  the  tobacco  crop,  it 
was  due  to  the  killing  of  the  plants  so  early  in  the 
spring,  that  such  land  did  not  need  to  lie  uncultivated, 
and  in  most  cases  was  planted  "  in  corn  and  pease, 
which  always  turned  to  good  account  "  ;  4  and  although, 
for  the  whole  colony,  the  crop  of  tobacco  "  was  short 
in  quantity,"  yet  "  in  cash  value  it  proved  to  be  the 
best  crop  that  Virginia  had  ever  had  "  since  the  settle 
ment  of  the  colony.5  Finally,  it  was  by  no  means  the 
welfare  of  the  poor  that  "  was  the  object,  or  the  effect, 
of  the  law  "  ;  but  it  was  "  the  rich  planters  "  who,  first 
selling  their  tobacco  at  about  fifty  shillings  the  hun 
dred,  and  then  paying  to  the  clergy  and  others  their 
tobacco  debts  at  the  rate  of  sixteen  shillings  the  hun 
dred,  were  "  the  chief  gainers  "  by  the  act.6 

Such,  then,  in  all  its  fresh  and  unadorned  rascality, 
Was  the  famous  "  option  law,"  or  "  two-penny  act,"  of 

1  Perry,  Hist.  Coll.,  i.  467,  468. 

2  As  was  alleged  in  Richard  Eland's  Letter  to  the  Clergy,  17. 
s  Perry,  Hist.  Coll.,  i.  467. 

4  Ibid.  i.  466. 

6  Ibid.  i.  465,  466. 

«  Meade,  Old  Families  of  Virginia,  i.  223. 


38  PATRICK  HENRY. 

1758:  an  act  firmly  opposed,  on  its  first  appearance  in 
the  legislature,  by  a  noble  minority  of  honorable  men  ; 
an  act  clearly  indicating  among  a  portion  of  the  people 
of  Virginia  a  survival  of  the  old  robber  instincts  of  our 
Norse  ancestors ;  an  act  having  there  the  sort  of  frantic 
popularity  that  all  laws  are  likely  to  have  which  give 
a  dishonest  advantage  to  the  debtor  class,  —  and  in  Vir 
ginia,  unfortunately,  on  the  subject  of  salaries  due  to 
the  clergy,  nearly  all  persons  above  sixteen  years  of  age 
belonged  to  that  class.1 

At  the  time  when  this  act  was  before  the  legislature 
for  consideration,  the  clergy  applied  for  a  hearing,  but 
were  refused.  Upon  its  passage  by  the  two  houses,  the 
clergy  applied  to  the  acting  governor,  hoping  to  obtain 
his  disapproval  of  the  act ;  but  his  reply  was  an  un 
blushing  avowal  of  his  determination  to  pursue  any 
course,  right  or  wrong,  which  would  bring  him  popular 
favor.  They  then  sent  one  of  their  own  number  to 
England,  for  the  purpose  of  soliciting  the  royal  disal- 

1  In  the  account  here  given  of  these  Virginia  "option  laws,"  I 
have  been  obliged,  by  lack  of  space,  to  give  somewhat  curtly  the 
bald  results  of  rather  careful  studies  which  I  have  made  upon  the 
question  in  all  accessible  documents  of  the  period  ;  and  I  have  not 
been  at  liberty  to  state  many  things,  on  both  sides  of  the  question, 
which  would  be  necessary  to  a  complete  discussion  of  the  subject. 
For  instance,  among  the  motives  to  be  mentioned  for  the  popularity 
of  laws  whose  chief  effects  were  to  diminish  the  pay  of  the  established 
clergy,  should  be  considered  those  connected  with  a  growing  dissent 
from  the  established  church  in  Virginia,  and  particularlv  with  the 
very  human  dislike  which  even  churchmen  might  have  to  paying  in 
the  form  of  a  compulsory  tax  what  they  would  have  cheerfully  paid 
in  the  form  of  a  voluntary  contribution.  Perhaps  the  best  modern 
defence  of  these  laws  is  by  A.  H.  Everett,  in  his  Life  of  Henry,  230- 
233 ;  but  his  statements  seem  to  be  founded  on  imperfect  information. 
Wirt,  publishing  his  opinion  under  the  responsibility  of  his  great  pro 
fessional  and  official  position,  affirms  that  on  the  whole  question,  "  the 
clergy  had  much  the  best  of  the  argument."  Life  qf  Henry,  22. 


A  CELEBRATED   CASE.  89 

lowance  of  the  act.  After  a  full  hearing  of  both  sides, 
the  privy  council  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  the  clergy 
of  Virginia  had  their  "  certain  remedy  at  law  " ;  Lord 
Hardwicke,  in  particular,  declaring  that  "  there  was  no 
occasion  to  dispute  about  the  authority  by  which  the 
act  was  passed;  for  that  no  court  in  the  judicature 
whatever  could  look  upon  it  to  be  law,  by  reason  of  its 
manifest  injustice  alone."  1  Accordingly,  the  royal  dis 
allowance  was  granted.  Upon  the  arrival  in  Virginia 
of  these  tidings,  several  of  the  clergy  began  suits  against 
their  respective  vestries,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling 
them  to  pay  the  amounts  then  legally  due  upon  their 
salaries  for  the  year  1758. 

Of  these  suits,  the  first  to  come  to  trial  was  that 
of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Warrington,  in  the  County  Court 
of  Elizabeth  City.  In  that  case,  "  a  jury  of  his  own 
parishioners  found  for  him  considerable  damages,  allow 
ing  on  their  oaths  that  there  was  above  twice  as  much 
justly  due  to  him  as  the  act  had  granted  ; "  2  but  "  the 
court  hindered  him  from  immediately  coming  at  the 
damages,  by  judging  the  act  to  be  law,  in  which  it  is 
thought  they  were  influenced  more  by  the  fear  of  giv 
ing  offencs  to  their  superiors,  than  by  their  own  opinion 
of  the  reasonableness  of  the  act,  —  they  privately  pro 
fessing  that  they  thought  the  parson  ought  to  have  his 
right."8 

Soon  afterward  came  to  trial,  in  the  court  of  King 
William  County,  the  suit  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  White, 
Rector  of  St.  David's  parish.  In  this  case,  the  court, 
instead  of  either  sustaining  or  rejecting  the  disallowed 

1  Perry,  Hist.  Coll.,  i.  510. 

2  Ibid.  i.  513,  514. 
%  Ibid.  i.  496,  497. 


40  PATRICK  HENRY. 

act,  simply  shirked  their  responsibility,  "refused  to 
meddle  in  the  matter,  and  insisted  on  leaving  the  whole 
affair  to  the  jury  ;  "  who  being  thus  freed  from  all  ju 
dicial  control,  straightway  rendered  a  verdict  of  neat 
and  comprehensive  lawlessness  :  "  We  bring  in  for  the 
defendant."  l 

It  was  at  this  stage  of  affairs  that  the  court  of 
Hanover  County  reached  the  case  of  the  Rev.  James 
Maury,  rector  of  Fredericksville  parish,  Louisa  ;  and 
the  court,  having  before  it  the  evidence  of  the  royal 
disallowance  of  the  Act  of  1758,  squarely  "adjudged 
the  act  to  be  no  law."  Of  course,  under  this  decision, 
but  one  result  seemed  possible.  As  the  court  had  thus 
rejected  the  validity  of  the  act  whereby  the  vestry  had 
withheld  from  their  parson  two  thirds  of  his  salary  for 
the  year  1758,  it  only  remained  to  summon  a  special 
jury  on  a  writ  of  inquiry  to  determine  the  damages  thus 
sustained  by  the  parson ;  and  as  this  was  a  very  simple 
question  of  arithmetic,  the  counsel  for  the  defendants 
expressed  his  desire  to  withdraw  from  the  case. 

Such  was  the  situation,  when  these  defendants,  hav 
ing  been  assured  by  their  counsel  that  all  further  strug 
gle  would  be  hopeless,  turned  for  help  to  the  enterpris 
ing  young  lawyer  who,  in  that  very  place,  had  been  for 
the  previous  three  and  a  half  years  pushing  his  way  to 
notice  in  his  profession.  To  him,  accordingly,  they 
brought  their  cause,  —  a  desperate  cause,  truly,  —  a 
cause  already  lost  and  abandoned  by  veteran  and  emi 
nent  counsel.  Undoubtedly,  by  the  ethics  of  his  pro 
fession,  Patrick  Henry  was  bound  to  accept  the  retainer 
that  was  thus  tendered  him ;  and,  undoubtedly,  by  the 
organization  of  his  own  mind,  having  once  accepted 
1  Perry,  Rltt.  Co//.,  i.  497. 


A  CELEBRATED   CASE.  41 

that  retainer,  he  was  likely  to  devote  to  the  cause  no 
tepid  or  half-hearted  service. 

The  decision  of  the  court,  which  has  been  referred 
to,  was  rendered  at  its  November  session.  On  the  first 
day  of  the  session  in  December,  the  order  was  executed 
for  summoning  a  select  jury  "  to  examine  whether  the 
plaintiff  had  sustained  any  damages,  and  what."  l  Obvi 
ously,  in  the  determination  of  these  two  questions,  much 
would  depend  on  the  personal  composition  of  the  jury  ; 
and  it  is  apparent  that  this  matter  was  diligently  at 
tended  to  by  the  sheriff.  His  plan  seems  to  have  been 
to  secure  a  good,  honest  jury  of  twelve  adult  male  per 
sons,  but  without  having  among  them  a  single  one  of 
those  over-scrupulous  and  intractable  people  who,  in 
Virginia,  at  that  time,  were  still  technically  described  as 
gentlemen.  With  what  delicacy  and  efficiency  he  man 
aged  this  part  of  the  business  was  thus  described  shortly 
afterward  by  the  plaintiff,  of  course  a  deeply  interested 
eye-witness  :  "  The  sheriff  went  into  a  public  room  full 
of  gentlemen,  and  told  his  errand.  One  excused  himself 
...  as  having  already  given  his  opinion  in  a  similar 
case.  On  this,  ...  he  immediately  left  the  room, 
without  summoning  any  one  person  there.  He  after 
wards  met  another  gentleman  ...  on  the  green,  and, 
on  saying  he  was  not  fit  to  serve,  being  a  church 
warden,  he  took  upon  himself  to  excuse  him,  too,  and, 
as  far  as  I  can  learn  made  no  further  attempts  to  sum 
mon  gentlemen.  .  .  .  Hence  he  went  among  the  vulgar 
herd.  After  he  had  selected  and  set  down  upon  his  list 
about  eight  or  ten  of  these,  I  met  him  with  it  in  his 
hand,  and  on  looking  over  it,  observed  to  him  that  they 
were  not  such  jurors  as  the  court  had  directed  him  to 
1  Maury,  Mem.  of  a  Huguenot  Family,  419. 


42  PATRICK  HENRY. 

get,  —  being  people  of  whom  I  had  never  heard  before, 
except  one  whom,  I  told  him,  he  knew  to  be  a  party  in 
the  cause.  .  .  .  Yet  this  man's  name  was  not  erased. 
He  was  even  called  in  court,  and  hud  he  not  excused 
himself,  would  probably  have  been  admitted.  For  I  can 
not  recollect  that  the  court  expressed  either  surprise  or 
dislike  that  a  more  proper  jury  had  not  been  summoned. 
Nay,  though  I  objected  against  them,  yet,  as  Patrick 
Henry,  one  of  the  defendants'  lawyers,  insisted  they 
were  honest  men,  and,  therefore,  unexceptionable,  they 
were  immediately  called  to  the  book  and  sworn."  l 

Having  thus  secured  a  jury  that  must  have  been 
reasonably  satisfactory  to  the  defendants,  the  hearing 
began.  Two  gentlemen,  being  the  largest  purchasers 
of  tobacco  in  the  county,  were  then  sworn  as  witnesses 
to  prove  the  market  price  of  the  article  in  1759.  By 
their  testimony  it  was  established  that  the  price  was 
then  more  than  three  times  as  much  as  had  been  esti 
mated  in  the  payment  of  paper  money  actually  made  to 
the  plaintiff  in  that  year.  Upon  this  state  of  facts,  "  the 
lawyers  on  both  sides  "  proceeded  to  display  "  the  force 
and  weight  of  the  evidence  ;  "  after  which  the  case  was 
given  to  the  jury.  "  In  less  than  five  minutes,"  they 
"  brought  in  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff,  —  one  penny 
damages."  2 

Just  how  the  jury  were  induced,  in  the  face  of  the 
previous  judgment  of  that  very  court,  to  render  this  as 
tounding  verdict,  has  been  described  in  two  narratives  : 
one  by  William  Wirt,  written  about  fifty  years  after 
the  event ;  the  other  by  the  injured  plaintiff  himself, 
the  Rev.  James  Maury,  written  exactly  twelve  days 

1  Maury,  Mem.  of  a  Huguenot  Family,  419,  420. 

2  Ibid.  420. 


A   CELEBRATED    CASE.  48 

after  the  event.  Few  things  touching  the  life  of  Pat 
rick  Henry  .can  be  more  notable  or  more  instructive 
than  the  contrast  presented  by  these  two  narratives. 

On  reaching  the  scene  of  action,  on  the  1st  of  De 
cember,  Patrick  Henry  "  found,"  says  Wirt,  "  on  the 
court-yard  such  a  concourse  as  would  have  appalled  any 
other  man  in  his  situation.  They  were  not  people  of 
the  county  merely  who  were  there,  but  visitors  from 
all  the  counties  to  a  considerable  distance  around.  The 
decision  upon  the  demurrer  had  produced  a  violent  fer 
ment  among  the  people,  and  equal  exultation  on  the 
part  of  the  clergy,  who  attended  the  court  in  a  large 
body,  either  to  look  down  opposition,  or  to  enjoy  the 
final  triumph  of  this  hard  fought  contest,  which  they 
now  considered  as  perfectly  secure.  .  .  .  Soon  after  the 
opening  of  the  court  the  cause  was  called.  .  .  .  The 
array  before  Mr.  Henry's  eyes  was  now  most  fearful. 
On  the  bench  sat  more  than  twenty  clergymen,  the 
most  learned  men  in  the  colony.  .  .  .  The  court  house 
was  crowded  with  an  overwhelming  multitude,  and  sur 
rounded  with  an  immense  and  anxious  throng,  who,  not 
finding  room  to  enter,  were  endeavoring  to  listen  with 
out  in  the  deepest  attention.  But  there  was  something 
still  more  awfully  disconcerting  than  all  this  ;  for  in  the 
chair  of  the  presiding  magistrate  sat  no  other  person 
than  his  own  father.  Mr.  Lyons  opened  the  cause  very 
briefly.  .  .  .  And  now  came  on  the  first  trial  of  Patrick 
Henry's  strength.  No  one  had  ever  heard  him  speak,1 
and  curiosity  was  on  tiptoe.  He  rose  very  awkwardly, 
and  faltered  much  in  his  exordium.  The  people  hung 
their  heads  at  so  unpromising  a  commencement ;  the 

1  This  cannot  be  true  except  in  the  sense  that  he  had  never  before 
spoken  to  such  an  assemblage  or  in  any  great  cause. 


44  PATRICK  HENRY. 

clergy  were  observed  to  exchange  sly  looks  with  each 
other ;  and  his  father  is  described  as  having  almost 
sunk  with  confusion,  from  his  seat.  But  these  feelings 
were  of  short  duration,  and  soon  gave  place  to  others 
of  a  very  different  character.  For  now  were  those 
wonderful  faculties  which  he  possessed,  for  the  first 
time  developed ;  and  now  was  first  witnessed  that  mys 
terious  and  almost  supernatural  transformation  of  ap 
pearance,  which  the  fire  of  his  own  eloquence  never 
failed  to  work  in  him.  For  as  his  mind  rolled  along, 
and  began  to  glow  from  its  own  action,  all  the  exuviae 
of  the  clown  seemed  to  shed  themselves  spontaneously. 
His  attitude,  by  degrees,  became  erect  and  lofty.  The 
spirit  of  his  genius  awakened  all  his  features.  His 
countenance  shone  with  a  nobleness  and  grandeur  which 
it  had  never  before  exhibited.  There  was  a  lightning 
in  his  eyes  which  seemed  to  rive  the  spectator.  His 
action  became  graceful,  bold,  and  commanding ;  and  in 
the  tones  of  his  voice,  but  more  especially  in  his  empha 
sis,  there  was  a  peculiar  charm,  a  magic,  of  which  any 
one  who  ever  heard  him  will  speak  as  soon  as  he  is 
named,  but  of  which  no  one  can  give  any  adequate  de 
scription.  They  can  only  say  that  it  struck  upon  the 
ear  and  upon  the  heart,  in  a  manner  which  language 
cannot  tell.  Add  to  all  these,  his  wonder-working 
fancy,  and  the  peculiar  phraseology  in  which  he  clothed 
its  images  ;  for  he  painted  to  the  heart  with  a  force  that 
almost  petrified  it.  In  the  language  of  those  who  heard 
him  on  this  occasion,  *  he  made  their  blood  run  cold, 
and  their  hair  to  rise  on  end.' 

"  It  will  not  be  difficult  for  any  one  who  ever  heard 
this  most  extraordinary  man,  to  believe  the  whole  ac 
count  of  this  transaction  which  is  given  by  his  surviving 


A  CELEBRATED   CASE.  45 

hearers ;  and  from  their  account,  the  court  house  of 
Hanover  County  must  have  exhibited,  on  this  occasion, 
a  scene  as  picturesque  as  has  been  ever  witnessed  in 
real  life.  They  say  that  the  people,  whose  countenance 
had  fallen  as  he  arose,  had  heard  but  a  very  few  sen 
tences  before  they  began  to  look  up  ;  then  to  look  at 
each  other  with  surprise,  as  if  doubting  the  evidence 
of  their  own  senses;  then,  attracted  by  some  strong 
gesture,  struck  by  some  majestic  attitude,  fascinated  by 
the  spell  of  his  eye,  the  charm  of  his  emphasis,  and  the 
varied  and  commanding  expression  of  his  countenance, 
they  could  look  away  no  more.  In  less  than  twenty 
minutes,  they  might  be  seen  in  every  part  of  the  house, 
on  every  bench,  in  every  window,  stooping  forward 
from  their  stands,  in  death-like  silence;  their  features 
fixed  in  amazement  and  awe ;  all  their  senses  listening 
and  riveted  upon  the  speaker,  as  if  to  catch  the  least 
strain  of  some  heavenly  visitant.  The  mockery  of  the 
clergy  was  soon  turned  into  alarm ;  their  triumph  into 
confusion  and  despair ;  and  at  one  burst  of  his  rapid 
and  overwhelming  invective,  they  fled  from  the  house 
in  precipitation  and  terror.  As  for  the  father,  such  was 
his  surprise,  such  his  amazement,  such  his  rapture,  that, 
forgetting  where  he  was,  and  the  character  which  he 
was  filling,  tears  of  ecstasy  streamed  down  his  cheeks, 
without  the  power  or  inclination  to  repress  them. 

"  The  jury  seem  to  have  been  so  completely  bewil= 
dered,  that  they  lost  sight  not  only  of  the  Act  of  1748, 
but  that  of  1758  also  ;  for,  thoughtless  even  of  the  ad 
mitted  right  of  the  plaintiff,  they  had  scarcely  left  the 
bar,  when  they  returned  with  a  verdict  of  one  penny 
damages.  A  motion  was  made  for  a  new  trial ;  but  the 
court,  too,  had  now  lost  the  equipoise  of  their  judgment, 


46  PATRICK  HENRY. 

and  overruled  the  motion  by  an  unanimous  vote.  The 
verdict  and  judgment  overruling  the  motion  were  fol 
lowed  by  redoubled  acclamations,  from  within  and  with 
out  the  house.  The  people,  who  had  with  difficulty 
kept  their  hands  off  their  champion  from  the  moment 
of  closing  his  harangue,  no  sooner  saw  the  fate  of  the 
cause  finally  sealed,  than  they  seized  him  at  the  bar ; 
and  in  spite  of  his  own  exertions,  and  the  continued  cry 
of  order  from  the  sheriffs  and  the  court,  they  bore  him 
out  of  the  court  house,  and  raising  him  on  their  shoul 
ders,  carried  him  about  the  yard,  in  a  kind  of  elec 
tioneering  triumph."  l 

At  the  time  when  Wirt  wrote  this  rhapsody,  he  was 
unable,  as  he  tells  us,  to  procure  from  any  quarter  a 
rational  account  of  the  line  of  argument  taken  by  Pat 
rick  Henry,  or  even  of  any  other  than  a  single  topic 
alluded  to  by  him  in  the  course  of  his  speech,  —  they 
who  heard  the  speech  saying  "  that  when  it  was  over, 
they  felt  as  if  they  had  just  awaked  from  some  ecstatic 
dream,  of  which  they  were  unable  to  recall  or  connect 
the  particulars."  2 

There  was  present  in  that  assemblage,  however,  at 
least  one  person  who  listened  to  the  young  orator  with 
out  falling  into  an  ecstatic  dream,  and  whose  senses 
were  so  well  preserved  to  him  through  it  all  that  he  was 
able,  a  few  days  afterward,  while  the  whole  occasion 
was  fresh  in  his  memory,  to  place  upon  record  a  clear 
and  connected  version  of  the  wonder-working  speech 
This  version  is  to  be  found  in  a  letter  written  by  the 
plaintiff  on  the  12th  of  December,  1763,  and  has  been 
brought  to  light  only  within  recent  years. 

After  giving,  for  the  benefit  of  the  learned  counsel  by 
l  Wirt,  23-27.  2  ibid.  29. 


A   CELEBRATED   CASE.  47 

whom  the  cause  was  to  be  managed,  on  appeal,  in  the 
general  court,  a  lucid  aud  rather  critical  account  of 
the  whole  proceeding,  Maury  adds  :  "  One  occurrence 
more,  though  not  essential  to  the  cause,  I  can't  help 
mentioning.  .  .  .  Mr.  Henry,  mentioned  above  (who 
had  been  called  in  by  the  defendants,  as  we  sus 
pected,  to  do  what  I  some  time  ago  told  you  of) ,  after 
Mr.  Lyons  had  opened  the  cause,  rose  and  harangued 
the  jury  for  near  an  hour.  This  harangue  turned  upon 
points  as  much  out  of  his  own  depth,  and  that  of  the 
jury,  as  they  were  foreign  from  the  purpose,  —  which  it 
would  be  impertinent  to  mention  here.  However,  after 
he  had  discussed  those  points,  he  labored  to  prove  i  that 
the  Act  of  1758  had  every  characteristic  of  a  good  law ; 
that  it  was  a  law  of  general  utility,  and  could  not,  con 
sistently  with  what  he  called  the  original  compact  be 
tween  the  king  and  people.  .  .  be  annulled.'  Hence 
he  inferred,  *  that  a  king,  by  disallowing  acts  of  this 
salutary  nature,  from  being  the  father  of  his  people,  de 
generated  into  a  tyrant,  and  forfeits  all  right  to  his  sub 
jects'  obedience.'  He  further  urged  '  that  the  only  use 
of  an  established  church  and  clergy  in  society,  is  to  en 
force  obedience  to  civil  sanctions,  and  the  observance  of 
those  which  are  called  duties  of  imperfect  obligation  ; 
that  when  a  clergy  ceases  to  answer  these  ends,  the 
community  have  no  further  need  of  their  ministry,  and 
may  justly  strip  them  of  their  appointments ;  that  the 
clergy  of  Virginia,  in  this  particular  instance  of  their 
refusing  to  acquiesce  in  the  law  in  question,  had  been 
so  far  from  answering,  that  they  had  most  notoriously 
counteracted,  those  great  ends  of  their  institution ;  that, 
therefore,  instead  of  useful  members  of  the  state,  they 
ought  to  be  considered  as  enemies  of  the  community ; 


48  PATRICK  HENRY. 

and  that,  in  the  case  now  before  them,  Mr.  Maury,  in 
stead  of  countenance,  and  protection,  and  damages,  very 
justly  deserved  to  be  punished  with  signal  severity.' 
And  then  he  perorates  to  the  following  purpose,  *  that 
excepting  they  (the  jury)  were  disposed  to  rivet  the 
chains  of  bondage  on  their  own  necks,  he  hoped  they 
would  not  let  slip  the  opportunity  which  now  oifered,  of 
making  such  an  example  of  him  as  might,  hereafter,  be 
a  warning  to  himself  and  his  brethren,  not  to  have  the 
temerity,  for  the  future,  to  dispute  the  validity  of  such 
laws,  authenticated  by  the  only  authority  which,  in  his 
conception,  could  give  force  to  laws  for  the  government 
of  this  colony,  —  the  authority  of  a  legal  representative 
of  a  council,  and  of  a  kind  and  benevolent  and  patriot 
governor.'  You  '11  observe  I  do  not  pretend  to  re 
member  his  words,  but  take  this  to  have  been  the  sum 
and  substance  of  this  part  of  his  labored  oration. 
When  he  came  to  that  part  of  it  where  he  undertook  to 
assert  *  that  a  king,  by  annulling  or  disallowing  acts  of 
so  salutary  a  nature,  from  being  the  father  of  his 
people,  degenerated  into  a  tyrant,  and  forfeits  all  right 
to  his  subjects'  obedience,'  the  more  sober  part  of  the  au 
dience  were  struck  with  hori^r.  Mr.  Lyons  called  out 
aloud,  and  with  an  honest  warmth,  to  the  Bench,  *  that 
the  gentleman  had  spoken  treason,'  and  expressed  his 
astonishment,  '  that  their  worships  could  hear  it  without 
emotion,  or  any  mark  of  dissatisfaction.'  At  the  same 
instant,  too,  amongst  some  gentlemen  in  the  crowd  be 
hind  me,  was  a  confused  murmur  of  '  treason,  treason  ! ' 
Yet  Mr.  Henry  went  on  in  the  same  treasonable  and 
licentious  strain,  without  interruption  from  the  Bench, 
nay,  even  without  receiving  the  least  exterior  notice  of 
their  disapprobation.  One  of  the  jury,  too,  was  so 


A    CELEBRATED    CASE.  49 

highly  pleased  with  these  doctrines,  that,  as  I  was  after 
wards  told,  he  every  now  and  then  gave  the  traitorous 
declaimer  a  nod  of  approbation.  After  the  court  was 
adjourned,  he  apologized  to  me  for  what  he  had  said,  al 
leging  that  his  sole  view  in  engaging  in  the  cause,  and 
in  saying  what  he  had,  was  to  render  himself  popular. 
You  see,  then,  it  is  so  clear  a  point  in  this  person's  opin 
ion  that  the  ready  road  to  popularity  here  is  to  trample 
under  foot  the  interests  of  religion,  the  rights  of  the 
church,  and  the  prerogatives  of  the  crown." x 

1  Maury,  Mem.  of  a  Huguenot  Family,  418-424,  where  the  entire 
letter  is  given  in  print  for  the  first  time. 


CHAPTER    V. 

FIRST    TRIUMPHS    AT    THE    CAPITAL. 

IT  is  not  in  the  least  strange  that  the  noble-minded 
clergyman,  who  was  the  plaintiff  in  the  famous  cause  of 
the  Virginia  parsons,  should  have  been  deeply  offended 
by  the  fierce  and  victorious  eloquence  of  the  young  advo 
cate  on  the  opposite  side,  and  should  have  let  fall,  with 
reference  to  him,  some  bitter  words.  Yet  it  could  only 
be  in  a  moment  of  anger  that  any  one  who  knew  him 
could  ever  have  said  of  Patrick  Henry  that  he  was  dis 
posed  "  to  trample  under  foot  the  interests  of  religion," 
or  that  he  had  any  ill-will  toward  the  church  or  its 
ministers.  It  is  very  likely  that,  in  the  many  irritations 
growing  out  of  a  civil  establishment  of  the  church  in 
his  native  colony,  he  may  have  shared  in  feelings  that 
were  not  uncommon  even  among  devout  churchmen 
there  ;  but  in  spite  of  this,  then  and  always,  to  the  very 
end  of  his  life,  his  most  sacred  convictions  and  his  ten- 
derest  affections  seem  to  have  been  on  the  side  of  the 
institutions  and  ministers  of  Christianity,  and  even  of 
Christianity  in  its  historic  form.  Accordingly,  both  be 
fore  and  after  his  great  speech,  he  tried  to  indicate  to 
the  good  men  whose  legal  claims  it  had  become  his  pro 
fessional  duty  to  resist,  that  such  resistance  must  not  be 
taken  by  them  as  implying  on  his  part  any  personal  un- 
kindness.  To  his  uncle  and  namesake,  the  Reverend 
Patrick  Henry,  who  was  even  then  a  plaintiff  in  a 


FIRST   TRIUMPHS  AT  THE  CAPITAL.  51 

similar  suit,  and  whom  he  had  affectionately  persuaded 
not  to  remain  at  the  court-house  to  hear  the  coming 
speech  against  the  pecuniary  demands  of  himself  and  his 
order,  he  said  "  that  the  clergy  had  not  thought  him 
worthy  of  being  retained  on  their  side,"  and  that "  he 
knew  of  no  moral  principle  by  which  he  was  bound  to 
refuse  a  fee  from  their  adversaries."  ]  So,  too,  the  con 
ciliatory  words,  which,  after  the  trial,  he  tried  to  speak 
to  the  indignant  plaintiff,  and  which  the  latter  has 
reported  in  the  blunt  form  corresponding  to  his  own 
angry  interpretation  of  them,  after  all  may  have  borne 
the  better  meaning  given  to  them  by  Bishop  Meade, 
who  says  that  Patrick  Henry,  in  his  apology  to  Maury, 
"  pleaded  as  an  excuse  for  his  course,  that  he  was  a 
young  lawyer,  a  candidate  for  practice  and  reputation, 
and  therefore  must  make  the  best  of  his  cause."  2 

These  genial  efforts  at  pacification  are  of  rather 
more  than  casual  significance  :  they  are  indications  of 
character.  They  mark  a  distinct  quality  of  the  man's 
nature,  of  which  he  continued  to  give  evidence  during 
the  rest  of  his  life,  —  a  certain  sweetness  of  spirit, 
which  never  deserted  him  through  all  the  stern  con 
flicts  of  his  career.  He  was  always  a  good  fighter : 
never  a  good  hater.  He  had  the  brain  and  the  temper 
ament  of  an  advocate;  his  imagination  and  his  heart 
always  kindled  hotly  to  the  side  that  he  had  espoused, 
and  with  his  imagination  and  his  heart  always  went 
all  the  rest  of  the  man ;  in  his  advocacy  of  any  cause 
that  he  had  thus  made  his  own,  he  hesitated  at  no 
weapon  either  of  offence  or  of  defence  ;  he  struck  hard 
blows  —  he  spoke  hard  words  —  and  he  usually  tri- 

1  Wirt,  24. 

2  Meade,  Old  Families  and  Churches  of  Fa.,  i.  220. 


52  PATRICK  HENRY. 

umphed  •  and  yet,  even  in  the  paroxysms  of  the  combat, 
and  still  more  so  when  the  combat  was  over,  he  showed 
how  possible  it  is  to  be  a  redoubtable  antagonist  without 
having  a  particle  of  malice. 

Then,  too,  from  this  first  great  scene  in  his  public 
life,  there  comes  down  to  us  another  incident  that  has 
its  own  story  to  tell.  In  all  the  roar  of  talk  within  and 
about  the  court-house,  after  the  trial  was  over,  one  "  Mr. 
Cootes,  merchant  of  James  River,"  was  heard  to  say 
that  "  he  would  have  given  a  considerable  sum  out  of 
his  own  pocket  rather  than  his  friend  Patrick  should 
have  been  guilty  of  a  crime  but  little,  if  any  thing,  in 
ferior  to  that  which  brought  Simon  Lord  Lovat  to  the 
block,"  —  adding  that  Patrick's  speech  had  "•  exceeded 
the  most  seditious  and  inflammatory  harangues  of  the 
Tribunes  of  Old  Rome."  l  Here,  then,  thus  early  in 
his  career,  even  in  this  sorrowful  and  alarmed  criticism 
on  the  supposed  error  of  his  speech,  we  find  a  token  of 
that  loving  interest  in  him  and  in  his  personal  fate, 
which  even  in  those  days  began  to  possess  the  heart 
strings  of  many  a  Virginian  all  about  the  land,  and 
which  thenceforward  steadily  broadened  and  deepened 
into  a  sort  of  popular  idolization  of  him.  The  mys 
terious  hold  which  Patrick  Henry  came  to  have  upon 
the  people  of  Virginia  is  an  historic  fact,  to  be  rec 
ognized,  even  if  not  accounted  for.  He  was  to  make 
enemies  in  abundance,  as  will  appear;  he  was  to  stir 
up  against  himself  the  alarm  of  many  thoughtful  and 
conservative  minds,  the  deadly  hatred  of  many  an  old 
leader  in  colonial  politics,  the  deadly  envy  of  many  a 
younger  aspirant  to  public  influence ;  he  was  to  go  on 
ruffling  the  plumage  and  upsetting  the  combinations  of 
1  Maury,  Mem.  of  a  Huguenot  Fam.  423. 


FIRST  TRIUMPHS  AT   THE  CAPITAL.  53 

all  sorts  of  good  citizens,  who,  from  time  to  time,  in 
making  their  reckonings  without  him,  kept  finding  that 
they  had  reckoned  without  their  host.  But  for  all  that, 
the  willingness  of  this  worthy  Mr.  Cootes  of  James 
River  to  part  with  his  money,  if  need  be,  rather  than 
his  friend  Patrick  should  go  far  wrong,  seems  to  be 
one  token  of  the  beginning  of  that  deep  and  swelling 
passion  of  love  for  him  that  never  abated  among  the 
mass  of  the  people  of  Virginia  so  long  as  Patrick  lived, 
and  perhaps  has  never  abated  since. 

It  is  not  hard  to  imagine  the  impulse  which  so  aston 
ishing  a  forensic  success  must  have  given  to  the  profes 
sional  and  political  career  of  the  young  advocate.  Not 
only  was  he  immediately  retained  by  the  defendants  in 
all  the  other  suits  of  the  same  kind  then  instituted  in 
the  courts  of  the  colony,  but,  as  his  fee-books  show, 
from  that  hour  his  legal  practice  of  every  sort  received 
an  enormous  increase.  Moreover,  the  people  of  Vir 
ginia,  always  a  warm-hearted  people,  were  then,  to  a 
degree  almost  inconceivable  at  the  North,  sensitive  to 
oratory,  and  admirers  of  eloquent  men.  The  first  test 
by  which  they  commonly  ascertained  the  fitness  of  a 
man  for  public  office,  concerned  his  ability  to  make  a 
speech ;  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  from  the  mo 
ment  of  Patrick  Henry's  amazing  harangue  in  the 
"  Parsons'  Cause,"  —  a  piece  of  oratory  altogether  sur 
passing  anything  ever  before  heard  in  Virginia,  —  the 
eyes  of  men  began  to  fasten  upon  him  as  destined  to 
some  splendid  and  great  part  in  political  life. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  his  career,  Williamsburg 
was  the  capital  of  the  colony,  —  the  official  residence 
of  its  governor,  the  place  of  assemblage  for  its  legisla 
ture  and  its  highest  courts,  and,  at  certain  seasons  of 


54  PATRICK  HENRY. 

the  year,  the  scene  of  no  little  vice-regal  and  provincial 
magnificence. 

Thither  our  Patrick  had  gone  in  1760  to  get  per 
mission  to  be  a  lawyer.  Thither  he  now  goes  once 
more,  in  1764,  to  give  some  proof  of  his  quality  in  the 
profession  to  which  he  had  been  reluctantly  admitted, 
and  to  win  for  himself  the  first  of  a  long  series  of 
triumphs  at  the  colonial  capital,  —  triumphs  which  gave 
food  for  wondering  talk  to  all  his  contemporaries,  and 
long  lingered  in  the  memories  of  old  men.  Soon  after 
the  assembling  of  the  legislature,  in  the  fall  of  1764, 
the  committee  on  privileges  and  elections  had  before 
them  the  case  of  James  Littlepage,  who  had  taken  his 
seat  as  member  for  the  county  of  Hanover,  but  whose 
right  to  the  seat  was  contested,  on  a  charge  of  bribery 
and  corruption,  by  Nathaniel  West  Dandridge.  For  a 
day  or  two  before  the  hearing  of  the  case,  the  members 
of  the  house  had  "  observed  an  ill-dressed  young  man 
sauntering  in  the  lobby,"  apparently  a  stranger  to  every 
body,  moving  "awkwardly  about  .  .  .  with  a  counte 
nance  of  abstraction  and  total  unconcern  as  to  what  was 
passing  around  him  "  ;  but  who,  when  the  committee 
convened  to  consider  the  case  of  Dandridge  against 
Littlepage,  at  once  took  his  place  as  counsel  for  the 
former.  The  members  of  the  committee,  either  not 
catching  his  name  or  not  recalling  the  association  at 
taching  to  it  from  the  scene  at  Hanover  Court  House 

O 

nearly  a  twelvemonth  before,  were  so  affected  by  his 
rustic  and  ungainly  appearance  that  they  treated  him 
with  neglect  and  even  with  discourtesy ;  until,  when 
his  turn  came  to  argue  the  cause  of  his  client,  he 
poured  forth  such  a  torrent  of  eloquence,  and  exhibited 
with  so  much  force  and  splendor  the  sacreduess  of  the 


FIRST  TRIUMPHS  AT   THE   CAPITAL.  55 

suffrage  and  the  importance  of  protecting  it,  that  the 
ingivility  and  contempt  of  the  committee  were  turned 
into  admiration.1  Nevertheless,  it  appears  from  the 
journals  of  the  house  that,  whatever  may  have  been  the 
admiration  of  the  committee  for  the  eloquence  of  Mr. 
Dandridge's  advocate,  they  did  not  award  the  seat  to 
Mr.  Dandridge. 

Such  was  Patrick  Henry's  first  contact  with  the 
legislature  of  Virginia,  —  a  body  of  which  he  was  soon 
to  become  a  member,  and  over  which,  in  spite  of  the 
social  prestige,  the  talents,  and  the  envious  opposition 
of  its  old  leaders,  he  was  promptly  to  gain  an  ascend 
ancy  that  constituted  him,  almost  literally,  the  dictator 
of  its  proceedings,  so  long  as  he  chose  to  hold  a  place 
in  it.  On  the  present  occasion,  having  finished  the 
somewhat  obscure  business  that  had  brought  him  be 
fore  the  committee,  it  is  probable  that  he  instantly  dis 
appeared  from  the  scene,  not  to  return  to  it  until  the 
following  spring,  when  he  came  back  to  transact  busi 
ness  with  the  house  itself.  For,  early  in  May,  1765,  a 
vacancy  having  occurred  in  the  representation  for  the 
county  of  Louisa,  Patrick  Henry,  though  not  then  a 
resident  in  that  county,  was  elected  as  its  member. 
The  first  entry  to  be  met  with  in  the  journals,  indi 
cating  his  presence  in  the  house,  is  that  of  his  appoint 
ment,  on  the  20th  of  May,  as  an  additional  member  of 
the  committee  for  courts  of  justice.  Between  that  date 
and  the  1st  of  June,  when  the  house  was  angrily  dis 
solved  by  the  governor,  this  young  and  very  rural  mem 
ber  contrived  to  do  two  or  three  quite  notable  things  — 
things,  in  fact,  so  notable  that  they  conveyed  to  the 
people  of  Virginia  the  tidings  of  the  advent  among 
i  Wirt,  39-41. 


56  PATRICK  HENRY. 

them  of  a  great  political  leader,  gave  an  historic  im 
pulse  to  the  series  of  measures  which  ended  in  the  dis 
ruption  of  the  British  Empire,  and  set  his  own  name 
a  ringing  through  the  world,  —  not  without  lively  im 
putations  of  treason,  and  comforting  assurances  that  he 
was  destined  to  be  hanged. 

The  first  of  these  notable  things  is  one  which  inci 
dentally  throws  a  rather  painful  glare  on  the  corrup 
tions  of  political  life  in  our  old  and  belauded  colonial 
days.  The  speaker  of  the  house  of  burgesses  at  that 
time  was  John  Robinson,  a  man  of  great  estate,  fore 
most  among  all  the  landed  aristocracy  of  Virginia.  He 
had  then  been  speaker  for  about  twenty-five  years  ;  for 
a  long  time,  also,  he  had  been  treasurer  of  the  colony  ; 
and  in  the  latter  capacity  he  had  been  accustomed  for 
many  years  to  lend  the  public  money,  on  his  own  pri 
vate  account,  to  his  personal  and  political  friends,  and 
particularly  to  those  of  them  who  were  members  of  the 
house.  This  profligate  business  had  continued  so  long 
that  Robinson  had  finally  become  a  defaulter  to  an 
enormous  amount ;  and  in  order  to  avert  the  shame 
and  ruin  of  an  exposure,  he  and  his  particular  friends, 
just  before  the  arrival  of  Patrick  Henry,  had  invented 
a  very  pretty  device,  to  be  called  a  "  public  loan  of 
fice," — "  from  which  monies  might  be  lent  on  public 
account,  and  on  good  landed  security,  to  individuals," 
and  by  which,  as  was  expected,  the  debts  due  to  Rob 
inson  on  the  loans  which  he  had  been  granting  might 
be  "  transferred  to  the  public,  and  his  deficit  thus  com 
pletely  covered." l  Accordingly,  the  scheme  was 
brought  forward  under  nearly  every  possible  advan 
tage  of  influential  support.  It  was  presented  to  the 
1  Mem.  by  Jefferson,  in  Hist.  Mag.  for  1867,  91. 


FIRST  TRIUMPHS   AT   THE    CAPITAL.  57 

house  and  to  the  public  as  a  measure  eminently  wise 
and  beneficial.  It  was  supported  in  the  house  by  many 
powerful  and  honorable  members  who  had  not  the  re 
motest  suspicion  of  the  corrupt  purpose  lying  at  the 
bottom  of  it.  Apparently  it  was  on  the  point  of  adop 
tion  when,  from  among  the  members  belonging  to  the 
upper  counties,  there  arose  this  raw  youth,  who  had 
only  just  taken  his  seat,  and  who,  without  any  informa 
tion  respecting  the  secret  intent  of  the  measure,  and 
equally  without  any  disposition  to  let  the  older  and 
statelier  members  do  his  thinking  for  him,  simply  at 
tacked  it,  as  a  scheme  to  be  condemned  on  general 
principles.  From  the  door  of  the  lobby  that  day  there 
stood  peering  into  the  assembly  Thomas  Jefferson,  then 
a  law  student  at  Williamsburg,  who  thus  had  the  good 
luck  to  witness  the  debut  of  his  old  comrade.  "  He 
laid  open  with  so  much  energy  the  spirit  of  favoritism 
on  which  the  proposition  was  founded,  and  the  abuses 
to  which  it  would  lead,  that  it  was  crushed  in  its  birth."  1 
He  "  attacked  the  scheme  ...  in  that  style  of  bold, 
grand,  and  overwhelming  eloquence  for  which  he  be 
came  so  justly  celebrated  afterwards.  He  carried  with 
him  all  the  members  of  the  upper  counties,  and  left 
a  minority  composed  merely  of  the  aristocracy  of  the 
country.  From  this  time  his  popularity  swelled  apace ; 
and  Robinson  dying  four  years  after,  his  deficit  was 
brought  to  light,  and  discovered  the  true  object  of  the 
proposition."  2 

But  a  subject  far  greater  than  John  Robinson's  pro 
ject  for  a  loan  office  was  then  beginning  to  weigh  on 
men's  minds.  Already  were  visible  far  off  on  the  edge 

1  Jefferson's  Works,  vi.  365. 

2  Mem.  by  Jefferson,  in  Hist.  Mag.  for  1867,  91. 


58  PATRICK  HENRY. 

of  the  sky,  the  first  filmy  threads  of  a  storm-cloud  that 
was  to  grow  big  and  angry  as  the  years  went  by,  and 
was  to  accompany  a  political  tempest  under  which  the 
British  Empire  would  be  torn  asunder,  arid  the  whole 
structure  of  American  colonial  society  wrenched  from 
its  foundations.  Just  one  year  before  the  time  now 
reached,  news  had  been  received  in  Virginia  that  the 
British  ministry  had  announced  in  parliament  their  pur 
pose  to  introduce,  at  the  next  session,  an  act  for  laying 
certain  stamp  duties  on  the  American  colonies.  Accord 
ingly,  in  response  to  these  tidings,  the  house  of  bur 
gesses,  in  the  autumn  of  1764,  had  taken  the  earliest 
opportunity  to  send  a  respectful  message  to  the  govern 
ment  of  England,  declaring  that  the  proposed  act  would 
be  deemed  by  the  loyal  and  affectionate  people  of  Vir 
ginia  as  an  alarming  violation  of  their  ancient  constitu 
tional  rights.  This  message  had  been  elaborately  drawn 
up,  in  the  form  of  an  address  to  the  king,  a  memorial 
to  the  house  of  lords,  and  a  remonstrance  to  the  com 
mons;1  the  writers  being  a  committee  composed  of  gen 
tlemen  prominent  in  the  legislature,  and  of  high  social 
standing  in  the  colony,  including  London  Carter,  Rich 
ard  Henry  Lee,  George  Wythe,  Edmund  Pendleton, 
Benjamin  Harrison,  Richard  Bland,  and  even  Peyton 
Randolph,  the  king's  attorney-general. 

Meantime,  to  this  appeal  no  direct  answer  had  been 
returned  ;  instead  of  which,  however,  was  received  by 
the  house  of  burgesses,  in  May,  1765,  about  the  time 
of  Patrick  Henry's  accession  to  that  body,  a  copy  of 
the  Stamp  Act  itself.  What  was  to  be  done  about  it  ? 
What  was  to  be  done  by  Virginia?  What  was  to  be 

1  These  documents  are  given  in  full  in  the  Appendix  to  Wirt's 
Life  of  Henry,  as  Note  A. 


FIRST  TRIUMPHS  AT  THE   CAPITAL.  59 

done  by  her  sister  colonies  ?  Of  course,  by  the  pas 
sage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  the  whole  question  of  colonial 
procedure  on  the  subject  had  been  changed.  While 
the  act  was,  even  in  England,  merely  a  theme  for  con 
sideration,  and  while  the  colonies  were  virtually  under 
invitation  to  send  thither  their  views  upon  the  subject, 
it  was  perfectly  proper  for  colonial  pamphleteers  and 
for  colonial  legislatures  to  express,  in  every  civilized 
form,  their  objections  to  it.  But  all  this  was  now  over. 
The  Stamp  Act  had  been  discussed  ;  the  discussion  was 
ended ;  the  act  had  been  decided  on ;  it  had  become  a 
law.  Criticism  upon  it  now,  especially  by  a  legislative 
body,  was  a  very  different  matter  from  what  criticism 
upon  it  had  been,  even  by  the  same  body,  a  few  months 
before.  Then,  the  loyal  legislature  of  Virginia  had  fit 
tingly  spoken  out,  concerning  the  contemplated  act,  its 
manly  words  of  disapproval  and  of  protest ;  but  now 
that  the  contemplated  act  had  become  an  adopted  act  — 
had  become  the  law  of  the  land  —  could  that  same 
legislature  again  speak  even  those  same  words,  without 
thereby  becoming  disloyal,  —  without  venturing  a  little 
too  near  the  verge  of  sedition,  —  without  putting  itself 
into  an  attitude,  at  least,  of  incipient  nullification  re 
specting  a  law  of  the  general  government  ? 

It  is  perfectly  evident  that  by  all  the  old  leaders  of 
the  house  at  that  moment,  —  by  Peyton  Randolph, 
and  Pendleton,  and  Wythe,  and  Bland,  and  the  rest  of 
them,  —  this  question  was  answered  in  the  negative. 
Indeed,  it  could  be  answered  in  no  other  way.  Such 
being  the  case,  it  followed  that,  for  Virginia  and  for  all 
her  sister  colonies,  an  entirely  new  state  of  things  had 
arisen.  A  most  serious  problem  confronted  them,  —  a 
problem  involving,  in  fact,  incalculable  interests.  On 


60  PATRICK   HENRY. 

the  subject  of  immediate  concern,  they  had  endeavored, 
freely  aud  rightfully,  to  influence  legislation,  while  that 
legislation  was  in  process ;  but  now  that  this  legisla 
tion  was  accomplished,  what  were  they  to  do?  Were 
they  to  submit  to  it  quietly,  trusting  to  further  negotia 
tions  for  ultimate  relief,  or  were  they  to  reject  it  out 
right,  and  try  to  obstruct  its  execution  ?  Clearly,  here 
was  a  very  great  problem,  a  problem  for  statesman 
ship,  —  the  best  statesmanship  anywhere  to  be  had. 
Clearly  this  was  a  time,  at  any  rate,  for  wise  and  ex 
perienced  men  to  come  to  the  front;  a  time,  not  for 
rash  counsels,  nor  for  spasmodic  and  isolated  action 
on  the  part  of  any  one  colony,  but  for  deliberate  and 
united  action  on  the  part  of  all  the  colonies;  a  time  in 
which  all  must  move  forward,  or  none.  But,  thus  far, 
no  colony  had  been  heard  from :  there  had  not  been 
time.  Let  Virginia  wait  a  little.  Let  her  make  no 
mistake ;  let  her  not  push  forward  into  any  ill-con 
sidered  and  dangerous  measure  ;  let  her  wait,  at  least, 
for  some  signal  of  thought  or  of  purpose  from  her  sister 
colonies.  In  the  mean  while,  let  her  old  and  tried 
leaders  continue  to  lead. 

Such,  apparently,  was  the  state  of  opinion  in  the 
house  of  burgesses  when,  on  the  29th  of  May,  a  motion 
was  made  and  carried,  "  that  the  house  resolve  itself 
into  a  committee  of  the  whole  house,  immediately  to 
consider  the  steps  necessary  to  be  taken  in  consequence 
of  the  resolutions  of  the  house  of  commons  of  Great 
Britain,  relative  to  the  charging  certain  stamp  duties  in 
the  colonies  and  plantations  in  America."  l  On  thus  go 
ing  into  committee  of  the  whole,  to  deliberate  on  the 
most  difficult  and  appalling  question  that,  up  to  that 
1  Jour.  Va..  House  of  Burgestet. 


FIRST  TRIUMPHS  AT  THE   CAPITAL.  61 

time,  had  ever  come  before  an  American  legislature, 
the  members  may  very  naturally  have  turned  in  ex 
pectation  to  those  veteran  politicians  and  to  those  able 
constitutional  lawyers  who,  for  many  years,  had  been 
accustomed  to  guide  their  deliberations,  arid  who,  espe 
cially  in  the  last  session,  had  taken  charge  of  this  very 
question  of  the  Stamp  Act.  It  will  not  be  hard  for  us 
to  imagine  the  disgust,  the  anger,  possibly  even  the 
alarm,  with  which  many  may  have  beheld  the  floor 
now  taken,  not  by  Peyton  Randolph,  nor  Richard 
Bland,  nor  George  Wythe,  nor  Edmund  Pendleton, 
but-  by  this  new  and  very  unabashed  member  for  the 
county  of  Louisa,  —  this  rustic  and  clownish  youth  of 
the  terrible  tongue,  —  this  eloquent  but  presumptuous 
stripling,  who  was  absolutely  without  training  or  ex 
perience  in  statesmanship,  and  was  the  merest  novice 
even  in  the  forms  of  the  house. 

For  what  precise  purpose  the  new  member  had  thus 
ventured  to  take  the  floor,  was  known  at  the  moment 
of  his  rising  by  only  two  other  members,  —  George 
Johnston,  the  member  for  Fairfax,  and  John  Fleming, 
the  member  for  Cumberland.  But  the  measureless  au 
dacity  of  his  purpose,  as  being  nothing  less  than  that 
of  assuming  the  leadership  of  the  house,  and  of  dictating 
the  policy  of  Virginia  in  this  stupendous  crisis  of  its 
fate,  was  instantly  revealed  to  all,  as  he  moved  a  series 
of  resolutions,  which  he  proceeded  to  read  from  the 
blank  leaf  of  an  old  law  book,  and  which,  probably, 
were  as  follows :  — 

"  Whereas,  the  honorable  house  of  commons  in  Eng 
land  have  of  late  drawn  into  question  how  far  the  gen 
eral  assembly  of  this  colony  hath  power  to  enact  laws 
for  laying  of  taxes  and  imposing  duties,  payable  by  the 


62  PATRICK  HENRY. 

people  of  this,  his  majesty's  most  ancient  colony  :  for 
settling  and  ascertaining  the  same  to  all  future  times, 
the  house  of  burgesses  of  this  present  general  assembly 
have  come  to  the  following  resolves  :  — 

"  1.  Resolved,  That  the  first  adventurers  and  settlers 
of  this,  his  majesty's  colony  and  dominion,  brought  with 
them  and  transmitted  to  their  posterity,  and  all  other 
his  majesty's  subjects,  since  inhabiting  in  this,  his 
majesty's  said  colony,  all  the  privileges,  franchises,  and 
immunities  that  have  at  any  time  been  held,  enjoyed, 
and  possessed,  by  the  people  of  Great  Britain. 

44  2.  Resolved,  That  by  two  royal  charters,  granted 
by  king  James  the  First,  the  colonists  aforesaid  are  de 
clared  entitled  to  all  the  privileges,  liberties,  and  im 
munities  of  denizens  and  natural  born  subjects,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  as  if  they  had  been  abiding  and 
born  within  the  realm  of  England. 

"  3.  Resolved,  That  the  taxation  of  the  people  by 
themselves  or  by  persons  chosen  by  themselves  to  rep 
resent  them,  who  can  only  know  what  taxes  the  people 
are  able  to  bear,  and  the  easiest  mode  of  raising  them, 
and  are  equally  affected  by  such  taxes  themselves,  is 
the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  British  freedom,  and 
without  which  the  ancient  constitution  cannot  subsist. 

44  4.  Resolved,  That  his  majesty's  liege  people  of  this 
most  ancient  colony  have  uninterruptedly  enjoyed  the 
right  of  being  thus  governed  by  their  own  assembly  in 
the  article  of  their  taxes  and  internal  police,  and  that 
the  same  hath  never  been  forfeited,  or  any  other  way 
given  up,  but  hath  been  constantly  recognized  by  the 
kings  and  people  of  Great  Britain. 

u  5.  Resolved,  therefore,  That  the  general  assembly 
o£  this  colony  have  the  only  and  sole  exclusive  right 


FIRST  TRIUMPHS  AT  THE  CAPITAL.  63 

and  power  to  lay  taxes  and  impositions  upon  the  in 
habitants  of  this  colony ;  and  that  every  attempt  to  vest 
such  power  in  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever,  other 
than  the  general  assembly  aforesaid,  has  a  manifest 
tendency  to  destroy  British  as  well  as  American  free 
dom. 

"  6.  .Resolved,  That  his  majesty's  liege  people,  the 
inhabitants  of  this  colony,  are  not  bound  to  yield 
obedience  to  any  law  or  ordinance  whatever,  designed 
to  impose  any  taxation  whatsoever  upon  them,  other 
than  the  laws  or  ordinances  of  the  general  assembly 
aforesaid. 

"  7.  Resolved,  That  any  person  who  shall,  by  speak 
ing  or  writing,  assert  or  maintain  that  any  person  or 
persons,  other  than  the  general  assembly  of  this  colony, 
have  any  right  or  power  to  impose  or  lay  any  taxation 
on  the  people  here,  shall  be  deemed  an  enemy  to  his 
majesty's  colony."  1 

No  reader  will  find  it  hard  to  accept  Jefferson's  state 
ment  that  the  debate  on  these  resolutions  was  "  most 
bloody."  "  They  were  opposed  by  Randolph,  Bland, 
Pendleton,  Nicholas,  Wythe,  and  all  the  old  members, 
whose  influence  in  the  house  had  till  then  been  un- 

1  Of  this  famous  series  of  resolutions,  the  first  five  are  here  given 
precisely  as  they  are  given  in  Patrick  Henry's  own  certified  copy  still 
existing  in  manuscript,  and  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  W.  W.  Henry  ; 
but  as  that  copy  evidently  contains  only  that  portion  of  the  series 
which  was  reported  from  the  committee  of  the  whole,  and  was  adopted 
by  the  house,  I  have  here  printed  also  what  I  believe  to  have  been  the  _ 
preamble,  and  the  last  two  resolutions  inj±e  series  as  first  drawn  and' 
introduced  by  Patrick  Henry.  For  this  portion  of  the  series,  I  depend 
on  the  copy  printed  in  the  Boston  Gazette,  for  July  1,  1765,  and  re 
printed  in  R.  Frothingham,  Rise  of  the  Republic,  180  note.  In  Wirt's 
Life  of  Henry,  56-59,  is  a  transcript  of  the  first  five  resolutions  as 
given  in  Henry's  handwriting  ;  but  it  is  inaccurate  in  two  places. 


64  PATRICK  HENRY. 

broken."  l  There  was  every  reason,  whether  of  public 
policy  or  of  private  feeling,  why  the  old  party  leaders 
in  the  house  should  now  bestir  themselves,  and  com 
bine,  and  put  forth  all  their  powers  in  debate,  to  check, 
and  if  possible  to  rout  and  extinguish,  this  self-conceited 
but  most  dangerous  young  man.  u  Many  threats  were 
uttered,  and  much  abuse  cast  on  me,"  said  Patrick  him 
self,  long  afterward.  Logic,  learning,  eloquence,  de 
nunciation,  derision,  intimidation,  were  poured  from  all 
sides  of  the  house  upon  the  head  of  the  presumptuous 
intruder ;  but  alone,  or  almost  alone,  he  confronted, 
and  defeated  all  his  assailants.  ''  Torrents  of  sublime 
eloquence  from  Mr.  Henry,  backed  by  the  solid  reason 
ing  of  Johnston,  prevailed." 2 

It  was  sometime  in  the  course  of  this  tremendous 
fight,  extending  through  the  29th  and  30th  of  May, 
that  the  incident  occurred  which  has  long  been  familiar 
among  the  anecdotes  of  the  Revolution,  and  which  may 
be  here  recalled  as  a  reminiscence  not  only  of  his  own 
consummate  mastery  of  the  situation,  but  of  a  most 
dramatic  scene  in  an  epoch-making  debate.  Reaching 
the  climax  of  a  passage  of  fearful  invective,  on  the  in 
justice  and  the  impolicy  of  the  Stamp  Act,  he  said  in 
tones  of  thrilling  solemnity,  "  Caesar  had  his  Brutus  ; 
Charles  the  First,  his  Cromwell ;  and  George  the  Third 
['  Treason,'  shouted  the  speaker.  '  Treason,'  '  treason,' 
rose  from  all  sides  of  the  room.  The  orator  paused  in 
stately  defiance  till  these  rude  exclamations  were  ended, 
and  then,  rearing  himself  with  a  look  and  bearing  of 
still  prouder  and  fiercer  determination,  he  so  closed  the 
sentence  as  to  baffle  his  accusers,  without  in  the  least 
flinching  from  his  own  position,] — and  George  the 
l  Mem.  by  Jefferson,  in  Hist.  May.  for  1867,  91.  2  Ibid. 


FIRST  TRIUMPHS  AT  THE   CAPITAL.  65 

Third  may  profit  by  their  example.     If  this  be  treason , 
make  the  most  of  it."  1 

Of  this  memorable  struggle  nearly  all  other  details 
have  perished  with  the  men  who  took  part  in  it.  After 
the  house,  in  committee  of  the  whole,  had,  on  the  29th 
of  May,  spent  sufficient  time  in  the  discussion,  "  Mr. 
Speaker  resumed  the  chair,"  says  the  Journal,  "  and  Mr. 
Attorney  reported  that  the  said  committee  had  had  the 
said  matter  under  consideration,  and  had  come  to  sev 
eral  resolutions  thereon,  which  he  was  ready  to  deliver 
in  at  the  table.  Ordered  that  the  said  report  be  re 
ceived  to-morrow."  It  is  probable  that  on  the  morrow 
the  battle  was  renewed  with  even  greater  fierceness 
than  before.  The  Journal  proceeds  :  "  May  30.  Mr. 
Attorney,  from  the  committee  of  the  whole  house,  re 
ported  according  to  order,  that  the  committee  had  con 
sidered  the  steps  necessary  to  be  taken  in  consequence 
of  the  resolutions  of  the  house  of  commons  of  Great 
Britain,  relative  to  the  charging  certain  stamp  duties  in 
the  colonies  and  plantations  in  America,  and  that  they 
had  come  to  several  resolutions  thereon,  which  he  read 
in  his  place  and  then  delivered  at  the  table ;  when  they 

1  For  this  splendid  anecdote  we  are  indebted  to  Judge  John  Tyler, 
who,  then  a  youth  of  eighteen,  listened  to  the  speech  as  he  stood  in 
the  lobby  by  the  side  of  Jefferson.  Edmund  Randolph,  in  his  History 
of  Virginia,  still  in  manuscript,  has  a  somewhat  different  version  of 
the  language  of  the  orator,  as  follows  :  "'Caesar  had  his  Brutus, 
Charles  the  First,  his  Cromwell,  and  George  the  Third '  —  '  Treason, 
Sir,'  exclaimed  the  Speaker  ;  to  which  Mr.  Henry  instantly  replied, 
'  and  George  the  Third,  may  he  never  have  either.'"  The  version 
furnished  by  John  Tyler  is,  of  course,  the  more  effective  and  char 
acteristic  ;  and  as  Tyler  actually  heard  the  speech,  and  as,  moreover, 
his  account  is  confirmed  by  Jefferson  who  also  heard  it,  his  account 
can  hardly  be  set  aside  by  that  of  Randolph  who  did  not  hear  it,  and 
was  indeed  but  a  boy  of  twelve  at  the  time  it  was  made.  L.  G.  Tyler, 
Letters  and  Times  of  the  Tylers,  i.  5G  ;  Wirt,  05. 


66  PATRICK  HENRY. 

were  again  twice  read,  and  agreed  to  by  the  house, 
with  some  amendments."  Then  were  passed  by  the 
house,  probably,  the  first  five  resolutions  as  offered  by 
Henry  in  the  committee,  but  "passed,"  as  he  himself 
afterward  wrote,  "  by  a  very  small  majority,  perhaps  of 
one  or  two  only." 

Upon  this  final  discomfiture  of  the  old  leaders,  one  of 
their  number,  Peyton  Randolph,  swept  angrily  out  of 
the  house,  and  brushing  past  young  Thomas  Jefferson, 
who  was  standing  in  the  door  of  the  lobby,  he  swore, 
with  a  great  oath,  that  he  "  would  have  given  five  hun 
dred  guineas  for  a  single  vote."  *  On  the  afternoon  of 
that  day,  Patrick  Henry,  knowing  that  the  session  was 
practically  ended,  and  that  his  own  work  in  it  was  done, 
started  for  his  home.  He  was  seen  "  passing  along 
Duke  of  Gloucester  Street,  .  .  .  wearing  buckskin 
breeches,  his  saddle  bags  on  his  arm,  leading  a  lean 
horse,  and  chatting  with  Paul  Carriugton,  who  walked 
by  his  side." ' 

That  was  on  the  30th  of  May.  The  next  morning, 
the  terrible  Patrick  being  at  last  quite  out  of  the  way, 
those  veteran  lawyers  and  politicians  of  the  house,  who 
had  found  this  young  protagonist  alone  too  much  for 
them  all  put  together,  made  bold  to  undo  the  worst  part 
of  the  work  he  had  done  the  day  before  ;  they  ex 
punged  the  fifth  resolution.  In  that  mutilated  form, 
without  the  preamble,  and  with  the  last  three  of  the 
original  resolutions  omitted,  the  first  four  then  remained 
on  the  journal  of  the  house  as  the  final  expression  of 
its  official  opinion.  Meantime,  on  the  wings  of  the 
wind,  and  on  the  eager  tongues  of  men,  had  been  borne, 

1  Mem.  by  Jefferson,  Hist.  Mag.  for  18G7,  91. 

2  Campbell,  Hist.  Fa.,  542. 


FIRST   TRIUMPHS  AT   THE   CAPITAL.  67 

past  recall,  far  northward  and  far  southward,  the  fiery 
unchastised  words  of  nearly  the  entire  series,  to  kindle 
in  all  the  colonies  a  great  flame  of  dauntless  purpose  ; l 
while  Patrick  himself,  perhaps  then  only  half  conscious 
of  the  fateful  work  he  had  just  been  doing,  travelled 

1  The  subject  of  the  Virginia  resolutions  presents  several  difficulties 
which  I  have  not  thought  it  best  to  discuss  in  the  text,  where  I  have 
given  merely  the  results  of  my  own  rather  careful  and  repeated  study 
of  the  question.  In  brief,  my  conclusion  is  this  :  That  the  series  as 
given  above,  consisting  of  a  preamble  and  seven  resolutions,  is  the 
series  as  originally  prepared  by  Patrick  Henry,  and  introduced  by 
him  on  Wednesday,  May  29,  in  the  committee  of  the  whole,  and  prob 
ably  passed  by  the  committee  on  that  day  ;  that  at  once,  without 
waiting  for  the  action  of  the  house  upon  the  subject,  copies  of  the  • 
series  got  abroad,  and  were  soon  published  in  the  newspapers  of  the 
several  colonies,  as  though  actually  adopted  by  the  house  ;  that  on 
Thursday,  May  30,  the  series  was  cut  down  in  the  house  by  the 
rejection  of  the  preamble  and  the  resolutions  6  and  7,  and  by  the 
adoption  of  only  the  first  five  as  given  above  ;  that  on  the  day  after 
that,  when  Patrick  Henry  had  gone  home,  the  house  still  further  cut 
down  the  series  by  expunging  the  resolution  which  is  above  numbered 
as  5 ;  and  that,  many  years  afterwards,  when  Patrick  Henry  came  to 
prepare  a  copy  for  transmission  to  posterity,  he  gave  the  resolutions 
just  as  they  stood  when  adopted  by  the  house  on  May  30,  and  not  as 
they  stood  when  originally  introduced  by  him  in  committee  of  the 
whole  on  the  day  before,  nor  as  they  stood  when  mutilated  by  the 
cowardly  act  of  the  house  on  the  day  after.  It  will  be  noticed,  there 
fore,  that  the  so-called  resolutions  of  Virginia,  which  were  actually 
published  and  known  to  the  colonies  in  1765,  and  which  did  so  much  to 
fire  their  hearts,  were  not  the  resolutions  as  adopted  by  the  house,  but 
were  the  resolutions  as  first  introduced,  and  probably  passed,  in  com 
mittee  of  the  whole ;  and  that  even  this  copy  of  them  was  inaccurately 
given,  since  it  lacked  the  resolution  numbered  above  as  3,  probably 
owing  to  an  error  in  the  first  hurried  transcription  of  them.  Those 
who  care  to  study  the  subject  further  will  find  the  materials  in  Prior 
Documents,  6,  7;  Marshall,  Life  of  Washington,  i.  note  iv. ;  Frothing- 
ham,  Rise  of  the  Republic,  180  note;  Gordon,  Hist.  Am.  Rev.,  i.  129- 
139;  Works  of  Jefferson,  vi.  366,  367;  Wirt,  Life  of  Henry,  56-63; 
Everett,  Life  of  Henry,  265-273,  with  important  note  by  Jared  Sparks 
in  Appendix,  391-398.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  narrative  given 
in  Burk,  Hist.  Va.,  iii.  305-310,  is  untrustworthy. 


68  PATRICK  HENRY. 

homeward  along  the  dusty  highway,  at  once  the  jolliest, 
the  most  popular,  and  the  least  pretentious  man  in  all 
Virginia,  certainly  its  greatest  orator,  possibly  even  its 
greatest  statesman. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CONSEQUENCES. 

SELDOM  has  a  celebrated  man  shown  more  indiffer 
ence  to  the  preservation  of  the  records  and  credentials 
of  his  career  than  did  Patrick  Henry.  While  some  of 
his  famous  associates  in  the  Revolution  diligently  kept 
both  the  letters  they  received,  and  copies  of  the  letters 
they  wrote,  and  made,  for  the  benefit  of  posterity,  care 
ful  memoranda  concerning  the  events  of  their  lives,  Pat 
rick  Henry  did  none  of  these  things.  Whatever  letters 
he  wrote,  he  wrote  at  a  dash,  and  then  parted  with  them 
utterly  ;  whatever  letters  were  written  to  him,  were  in 
variably  handed  over  by  him  to  the  comfortable  custody 
of  luck  ;  and  as  to  the  correct  historic  perpetuation  of 
his  doings,  he  seems  almost  to  have  exhausted  his  in 
terest  in  each  one  of  them  so  soon  as  he  had  accom 
plished  it,  and  to  have  been  quite  content  to  leave  to 
other  people  all  responsibility  for  its  being  remembered 
correctly,  or  even  remembered  at  all. 

To  this  statement,  however,  a  single  exception  has  to 
be  made.  It  relates  to  the  great  affair  described  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  previous  chapter.  Of  course,  it  was 
perceived  at  the  time  that  the  passing  of  the  Virginia  res 
olutions  against  the  Stamp  Act  was  a  great  affair  ;  but 
just  how  great  an  affair  it  was,  neither  Patrick  Henry 
nor  any  other  mortal  man  could  tell  until  years  had 
gone  by,  and  had  unfolded  the  vast  sequence  of  world- 


70  PATRICK  HENRY. 

resounding  events,  in  which  that  affair  was  proved  to 
be  a  necessary  factor.  It  deserves  to  be  particularly 
mentioned  that,  of  all  the  achievements  of  his  life,  the 
only  one  which  he  has  taken  the  pains  to  give  any  ac- 
count  of  is  his  authorship  of  the  Virginia  resolutions, 
and  his  successful  championship  of  them.  With  refer 
ence  to  this  achievement,  the  account  he  gave  of  it  was 
rendered  with  so  much  solemnity  and  impressiveness  as 
to-  indicate  that,  in  the  final  survey  of  his  career,  he  re 
garded  this  as  the  one  most  important  thing  he  ever  did. 
But  before  we  cite  the  words  in  which  he  thus  indicated 
this  judgment,  it  will  be  well  for  us  to  glance  briefly  at 
the  train  of.  historic  incidents  which  now  set  forth  the 
striking  connection  between  that  act  of  Patrick  Henry 
and  the  early  development  of  that  intrepid  policy  which 
culminated  in  American  independence. 

It  was  on  the  29th  of  May,  17G5,  as  will  be  remem 
bered,  that  Patrick  Henry  moved  in  the  committee  of 
the  whole  the  adoption  of  his  series  of  resolutions 
against  the  Stamp  Act ;  and  before  the  sun  went  down 
day,  the  entire  series,  as  is  probable,  was  adopted 
by  the  committee.  On  the  following  day,  the  essential 
portion  of  the  series  was  adopted,  likewise,  by  the  house. 
But  what  was  the  contemporary  significance  of  these 
resolutions  ?  As  the  news  of  them  swept  from  colony 
to  colony,  why  did  they  so  stir  men's  hearts  to  excite 
ment,  and  even  to  alarm?  It  was  not  that  the  lan 
guage  of  those  resolutions  was  more  radical  or  more 
trenchant  than  had  been  the  language  already  used  on 
the  same  subject,  over  and  over  again,  in  the  discussions 
of  the  preceding  twelve  months.  It  was  that,  in  the 
recent  change  of  the  political  situation,  the  significance 
of  that  language  had  changed.  Prior  to  the  time  re- 


CONSEQUENCES.  71 

f erred  to,  whatever  had  been  said  on  the  subject,  in  any 
of  the  colonies,  had  been  said  for  the  purpose  of  dis 
suading  the  government  from  passing  the  Stamp  Act. 
But  the  government  had  now  passed  the  Stamp  Act ; 
and,  accordingly,  these  resolutions  must  have  been 
meant  for  a  very  different  purpose.  They  were  a 
virtual  declaration  of  resistance  to  the  Stamp  Act;  a 
declaration  of  resistance  made,  not  by  an  individual 
writer,  nor  by  a  newspaper,  but  by  the  legislature  of  a 
great  colony ;  and,  moreover,  they  were  the  very  first 
declaration  of  resistance  which  was  so  made.1 

This  it  is  which  gives  us  the  contemporary  key  to 
their  significance,  and  to  the  vast  excitement  produced 
by  them,  and  to  the  enormous  influence  they  had  upon 
the  trembling  purposes  of  the  colonists  at  that  precise 
moment.  Hence  it  was,  as  a  sagacious  writer  of  that 
period  has  told  us,  that  merely  upon  the  adoption  of 
these  resolves  by  the  committee  of  the  whole,  men 
recognized  their  momentous  bearing,  and  could  not  be 
restrained  from  giving  publicity  to  them,  without  wait 
ing  for  their  final  adoption  by  the  house.  "  A  manu-\ 
script  of  the  unrevised  resolves,"  says  William  Gordon, 
"soon  reached  Philadelphia,  having  been  sent  off  im 
mediately  upon  their  passing,  that  the  earliest  infor 
mation  of  what  had  been  done  might  be  obtained  by 
the  Sons  of  Liberty.  ...  At  New  York  the  resolves 
were  handed  about  with  great  privacy :  they  were  ac 
counted  so  treasonable,  that  the  possessors  of  them  de 
clined  printing  them  in  that  city."  But  a  copy  of  them 
having  been  procured  with  much  difficulty  by  an  Irish 
gentleman  resident  in  Connecticut,  "  he  carried  them  to 
New  England,  where  they  were  published  and  circulated 
1  See  this  view  supported  by  Wirt,  in  his  life  by  Kennedy,  ii.  73. 


72  PATRICK  HENRY. 

far  and  wide  in  the  newspapers,  without  any  reserve,  and 
proved  eventually  the  occasion  of  those  disorders  which 
afterward  broke  out  in  the  colonies.  .  .  .  The  Virginia 
resolutions  gave  a  spring  to  all  the  disgusted ;  and  they 
began  to  adopt  different  measures."  ] 

But  while  the  tidings  of  these  resolutions  were  thus 
moving  toward  New  England,  and  before  they  had  ar 
rived  there,  the  assembly  of  the  great  colony  of  Massa 
chusetts  had  begun  to  take  action.  Indeed,  it  had  first 
met  on  the  very  day  on  which  Patrick  Henry  had  intro 
duced  his  resolutions  into  the  committee  of  the  whole 
at  Williamsburg.  On  the  8th  of  June,  it  had  resolved 
upon  a  circular  letter  concerning  the  Stamp  Act,  ad 
dressed  to  all  the  sister  colonies,  and  proposing  that  all 
should  send  delegates  to  a  congress  to  be  held  at  New 
York,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  the  following  October,  to 
deal  with  the  perils  and  duties  of  the  situation.  This 
circular  letter  at  once  started  upon  its  tour. 

The  first  reception  of  it,  however,  was  discouraging. 
From  the  speaker  of  the  New  Jersey  assembly  came 
the  reply  that  the  members  of  that  body  were  "  unani 
mously  against  uniting  on  the  present  occasion ; "  and 
for  several  weeks  thereafter,  "  no  movement  appeared 
in  favor  of  the  great  and  wise  measure  of  convening  a 
congress."  At  last,  however,  the  project  of  Massachu 
setts  began  to  feel  the  accelerating  force  of  a  mighty 
impetus.  The  Virginia  resolutions,  being  at  last  di 
vulged  throughout  the  land,  "  had  a  marked  effect  on 
public  opinion."  They  were  "  heralded  as  the  voice  of 
a  colony  .  .  .  The  fame  of  the  resolves  spread  as  they 
were  circulated  in  the  journals.  .  .  .  The  Virginia  ac 
tion,  like  an  alarum,  roused  the  patriots  to  pass  similar 
i  Gordon,  Hist,  of  Am.  Rev.,  \.  131. 


CONSEQ,  UENCES,  1 3 

resolves."  1  On  the  8th  of  July,  "  The  Boston  Gazette  " 
uttered  this  most  significant  sentence:  "The  people  of 
Virginia  have  spoken  very  sensibly,  and  the  frozen  poli 
ticians  of  a  more  northern  government  say  they  have 
spoken  treason."  2  On  the  same  day,  in  that  same  town 
of  Boston,  an  aged  lawyer  and  patriot 8  lay  upon  his 
deatli  bed  ;  and  in  his  admiration  for  the  Virginians  on 
account  of  these  resolves,  he  exclaimed,  "  they  are  men  ; 
they  are  noble  spirits."4  On  the  13th  of  August,  the 
people  of  Providence  instructed  their  representatives  in 
the  legislature  to  vote  in  favor  of  the  congress,  and  to 
procure  the  passage  of  a  series  of  resolutions  in  which 
were  incorporated  those  of  Virginia.6  On  the  15th  of 
August,  from  Boston,  Governor  Bernard  wrote  home  to 
the  ministry :  "  Two  or  three  months  ago,  I  thought 
that  this  people  would  submit  to  the  Stamp  Act.  Mur 
murs  were  indeed  continually  heard  ;  but  they  seemed 
to  be  such  as  would  die  away.  But  the  publishing  of 
the  Virginia  resolves  proved  an  alarm  bell  to  the  disaf 
fected."  6  On  the  23d  of  September,  General  Gage, 
the  commander  of  the  British  forces  in  America,  wrote 
from  New  York  to  Secretary  Con  way  that  the  Virginia 
resolves  had  given  u  the  signal  for  a  general  outcry  over 
the  continent."7  And  finally,  in  the  autumn  of  1774, 
an  able  loyalist  writer,  looking  back  over  the  political 
history  of  the  colonies  from  the  year  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
singled  out  the  Virginia  resolves  as  the  baleful  cause  of 

1  Frothingham,  Rise  of  the  Republic,  178-181. 

2  Cited  in  Frothingham,  181. 
8  Oxenbridge  Thacher. 

4  Works  of  John  Adams,  x.  287. 

5  Frothingham,  181. 

3  Cited  by  Sparks,  in  Everett,  Life  of  Henry,  396. 
7  Frothingham,  Rise  of  the  Republic,  181. 


74  PATRICK  HENRY. 

all  the  troubles  that  had  then  come  upon  the  land. 
**  After  it  was  known,"  said  he,  "  that  the  Stamp  Act 
was  passed,  some  resolves  of  the  house  of  burgesses  in 
Virginia,  denying  the  right  of  parliament  to  tax  the 
colonies,  made  their  appearance.  We  read  them  with 
wonder ;  they  savored  of  independence  ;  they  flattered  the 
human  passions  ;  the  reasoning  was  specious ;  we  wished 
it  conclusive.  The  transition  to  believing  it  so  was 
easy;  and  we,  and  almost  all  America,  followed  their 
example,  in  resolving  that  parliament  had  no  such 
right."  l 

All  these  facts,  and  many  more  that  might  be  pro 
duced,  seem  to  point  to  the  Virginia  resolutions  of 
1765  as  having  come  at  a  great  primary  crisis  of  the 
Revolution,  —  a  crisis  of  mental  confusion  and  hesita 
tion,  —  and  as  having  then  uttered,  with  trumpet  voice, 
the  very  word  that  was  fitted  to  the  hour,  and  that  gave 
to  men's  minds  clearness  of  vision,  and  to  their  hearts 
a  settled  purpose.  It  must  have  been  in  the  light  of 
such  facts  as  these  that  Patrick  Henry,  in  his  old  age, 
reviewing  his  own  wonderful  career,  determined  to  make 
a  sort  of  testamentary  statement  concerning  his  relation 
to  that  single  transaction,  —  so  vitally  connected  with 
the  greatest  epoch  in  American  history. 

Among  the  papers  left  by  him  at  his  death  was  one 
significantly  placed  by  the  side  of  his  will,  carefully 
sealed,  and  bearing  this  superscription  :  "  Inclosed  are 
the  resolutions  of  the  Virginia  assembly  in  1765,  con 
cerning  the  Stamp  Act.  Let  my  executors  open  this 
paper."  On  opening  the  document,  his  executors 
found  on  one  side  of  the  sheet  the  first  five  resolutions 
in  the  famous  series  introduced  by  him ;  and  on  the 
other  side,  these  weighty  words :  — 

1  Daniel  Leonard,  in  Novamjlus  (tnd  Massachuscttensis,  147,  148. 


CONSEQUENCES.  75 

"  The  within  resolutions  passed  the  house  of  bur 
gesses  in  May,  1765.  They  formed  the  first  opposition 
to  the  Stamp  Act,  and  the  scheme  of  taxing  America 
by  the  British  parliament.  All  the  colonies,  either 
through  fear,  or  want  of  opportunity  to  form  an  oppo 
sition,  or  from  influence  of  some  kind  or  other,  had  re 
mained  silent.  I  had  been  for  the  first  time  elected  a 
burgess  a  few  days  before  ;  was  young,  inexperienced, 
unacquainted  with  the  forms  of  the  house,  and  the 
members  that  composed  it.  Finding  the  men  of  weight 
averse  to  opposition,  and  the  commencement  of  the  tax 
at  hand,  and  that  no  person  was  likely  to  step  forth,  I 
determined  to  venture  ;  and  alone,  unadvised,  and  un 
assisted,  on  a  blank  leaf  of  an  old  law  book,  wrote  the 
within.1  Upon  offering  them  to  the  house,  violent  de- 

1  As  the  historic  importance  of  the  Virginia  resolutions  became 
more  and  more  apparent,  a  disposition  was  manifested  to  deny  to 
Patrick  Henry  the  honor  of  having  written  them.  As  early  as  1790, 
Madison,  between  whom  and  Henry  there  was  nearly  always  a  sharp 
hostility,  significantly  asked  Edmund  Pendleton  to  tell  him  "where 
the  resolutions  proposed  by  Mr.  Henry  really  originated."  Letters 
and  Other  Writings  of  Madison,  i.  515.  Edmund  Randolph  is  said  to 
have  asserted  that  they  were  written  by  William  Fleming;  a  state 
ment  of  which  Jefferson  remarked,  "  It  is  to  me  incomprehensible." 
Works,  vi.  484.  But  to  Jefferson's  own  testimony  on  the  same  sub 
ject,  I  would  apply  the  same  remark.  In  his  Memorandum,  he  says 
without  hesitation  that  the  resolutions  "were  drawn  up  by  George 
Johnston,  a  lawyer  of  the  Northern  Neck,  a  very  able,  logical,  and 
correct  speaker."  Hist.  Mag.  for  1867,  91.  But  in  another  paper, 
written  at  about  the  same  time,  Jefferson  said :  "  I  can  readily  enough 
believe  these  resolutions  were  written  by  Mr.  Henry  himself.  They 
bear  the  stamp  of  his  mind,  strong  without  precision.  That  they 
were  written  by  Johnston,  who  seconded  them,  was  only  the  rumor 
of  the  day,  and  very  possibly  unfounded."  Works,  vi.  484.  In  the 
face  of  all  this  tissue  of  rumor,  guesswork,  and  self-contradiction,  the 
deliberate  statement  of  Patrick  Henry  himself  that  he  Avrote  the  five 
resolutions  referred  to  by  him,  and  that  he  wrote  them  "alone,  un 
advised,  and  unassisted,"  must  close  the  discussion. 


76  PATRICK  HENRY. 

bates  ensued.  Many  threats  were  uttered,  and  much 
abuse  cast  on  me  by  the  party  for  submission.  After  a 
long  and  warm  contest,  the  resolutions  passed  by  a  very 
small  majority,  perhaps  of  one  or  two  only.  The  alarm 
spread  throughout  America  with  astonishing  quickness, 
and  the  ministerial  party  were  overwhelmed.  The 
great  point  of  resistance  to  British  taxation  was  uni 
versally  established  in  the  colonies.  This  brought  on 
the  war,  which  finally  separated  the  two  countries,  and 
gave  independence  to  ours. 

"  Whether  this  will  prove  a  blessing  or  a  curse,  will 
depend  upon  the  use  our  people  make  of  the  blessings 
which  a  gracious  God  hath  bestowed  on  us.  If  they 
are  wise,  they  will  be  great  and  happy.  If  they  are  of 
a  contrary  character,  they  will  be  miserable.  Right 
eousness  alone  can  exalt  them  as  a  nation. 

"  Reader  !  whoever  thou  art,  remember  this  ;  and  in 
thy  sphere  practise  virtue  thyself,  and  encourage  it  in 
others.  P.  HENRY."  l 

But  while  this  renowned  act  in  Patrick  Henry's  life 
had  consequences  so  notable  in  their  bearing  on  great 
national  and  international  movements,  it  is  interesting 
to  observe,  also,  its  immediate  effects  on  his  own  per 
sonal  position  in  the  world,  and  on  the  development  of 
his  career.  We  can  hardly  be  surprised  to  find,  on  the 
one  hand,  that  his  act  gave  deep  offence  to  one  very 
considerable  class  of  persons  in  Virginia,  —  the  official 
representatives  of  the  English  government,  and  their 
natural  allies,  those  thoughtful  and  conscientious  colo 
nists  who,  by  temperament  and  conviction,  were  in- 

1  Verified  from  the  original  manuscript,  now  in  possession  of  Mr. 
VV.  VV.  Henry. 


CONSEQUENCES.  77 

clined  to  la}'  a  heavy  accent  on  the  principle  of  civil 
authority  and  order.  Of  course,  as  the  official  head  of 
this  riot  ignoble  class,  stood  Francis  Fauquier,  the 
lieutenant-governor  of  the  colony  ;  and  his  letter  to  the 
lords  of  trade,  written  from  Williamsburg  a  few  days 
after  the  close  of  the  session,  contains  a  striking  narra 
tive  of  this  stormy  proceeding,  and  an  almost  amusing 
touch  of  official  undervaluation  of  Patrick  Henry  :  "  In 
the  course  of  the  debate,  I  have  heard  that  very  in 
decent  language  was  used  by  a  Mr.  Henry,  a  young 
lawyer,  who  had  not  been  above  a  mouth  a  member  of 
the  house,  and  who  carried  all  the  young  members  with 
him."  1  But  a  far  more  specific  and  intense  expression 
of  antipathy  came,  a  few  weeks  later,  from  the  Rev 
erend  William  Robinson,  the  colonial  commissary  of  the 
Bishop  of  London.  Writing,  on  the  12th  of  August, 
to  his  metropolitan,  he  gave  an  account  of  Patrick 
Henry's  very  offensive  management  of  the  cause 
against  the  parsons,  before  becoming  a  member-  of  the 
house  of  burgesses  ;  and  then  added :  "  He  has  since 
been  chosen  a  representative  for  one  of  the  counties, 
in  which  character  he  has  lately  distinguished  himself 
in  the  house  of  burgesses  on  occasion  of  the  arrival  of 
an  act  of  parliament  for  stamp  duties,  while  the  as 
sembly  was  sitting.  He  blazed  out  in  a  violent  speech 
against  the  authority  of  parliament  and  the  king,  com 
paring  his  majesty  to  a  Tarquin,  a  Caesar,  and  a  Charles 
the  First,  and  not  sparing  insinuations  that  he  wished 
another  Cromwell  would  arise.  He  made  a  motion  for 
several  outrageous  resolves,  some  of  which  passed  and 
were  again  erased  as  soon  as  his  back  was  turned.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Henry,  the  hero  of  whom  I  have  been  writing,  is 
l  Cited  by  Sparks,  in  Everett,  Life  of  Henry,  392. 


78  PATRICK  HENRY. 

gone  quietly  into  the  upper  parts  of  the  country  to 
recommend  himself  to  his  constituents  by  spreading 
treason  and  enforcing  firm  resolutions  against  the  au 
thority  of  the  British  Parliament." 1 

Such  was  Patrick  Henry's  introduction  to  the  upper 
spheres  of  English  society,  —  spheres  in  which  his  name 
was  to  become  still  better  known  as  time  rolled  on,  and 
for  conduct  not  likely  to  efface  the  impression  of  this 
bitter  beginning. 

As  to  his  reputation  in  the  colonies  outside  of  Vir 
ginia,  doubtless  the  progress  of  it,  during  this  period, 
was  slow  and  dim  ;  for  the  celebrity  acquired  by  the 
resolutions  of  1765  attached  to  the  colony  rather  than 
to  the  person.  Moreover,  the  boundaries  of  each  col 
ony,  in  those  days,  were  in  most  cases  the  boundaries 
likewise  of  the  personal  reputations  it  cherished.  It 
was  not  until  Patrick  Henry  came  forward,  in  the  Con 
gress  of  1774,  upon  an  arena  that  may  be  called  na 
tional,  that  his  name  gathered  about  it  the  splendor  of 
a  national  fame.  Yet,  even  before  1774,  in  the  rather 
dull  and  ungossiping  newspapers  of  that  time,  and  in 
the  letters  and  diaries  of  its  public  men,  may  be  dis 
covered  an  occasional  allusion  showing  that  already  his 
name  had  broken  over  the  borders  of  Virginia,  had 
travelled  even  so  far  as  to  New  England,  and  that  in 
Boston  itself  he  was  a  person  whom  people  were  be 
ginning  to  talk  about.  For  example,  in  his  Diary  for 
the  22d  of  July,  1770,  John  Adams  speaks  of  meeting 
some  gentlemen  from  Virginia,  and  of  going  out  to 
Cambridge  with  them.  One  of  them  is  mentioned  by 
name  as  having  this  distinction,  —  that  he  "  is  an  inti 
mate  friend  of  Mr.  Patrick  Henry,  the  first  mover  of 
i  Perry,  Hist.  Coll.,  i,  514,  515. 


CONSEQUENCES.  79 

the  Virginia  resolves  in  1765."  *  Thus,  even  so  early, 
the  incipient  revolutionist  in  New  England  had  got  his 
thoughts  on  his  brilliant  political  kinsman  in  Virginia. 

But  it  was  chiefly  within  the  limits  of  his  own 
splendid  and  gallant  colony,  and  among  an  eager  and 
impressionable  people  whose  habitual  hatred  of  all  re 
straints  turned  into  undying  love  for  this  dashing  cham 
pion  of  natural  liberty,  that  Patrick  Henry  was  now  in 
stantly  crowned  with  his  crown  of  sovereignty.  By  his 
resolutions  against  the  Stamp  Act,  as  Jefferson  testifies, 
"  Mr.  Henry  took  the  lead  out  of  the  hands  of  those 
who  had  heretofore  guided  the  proceedings  of  the  house, 
that  is  to  say,  of  Pendleton,  Wythe,  Bland,  Randolph, 
and  Nicholas." 2  Wirt  does  not  put  the  case  too 
strongly  when  he  declares,  that  "  after  this  debate  there 
was  no  longer  a  question  among  the  body  of  the  people, 
as  to  Mr.  Henry's  being  the  first  statesman  and  orator 
in  Virginia.  Those,  indeed,  whose  ranks  he  had  scat 
tered,  and  whom  he  had  thrown  into  the  shade,  still 
tried  to  brand  him  with  the  names  of  declaimer  and 
demagogue.  But  this  was  obviously  the  effect  of  envy 
and  mortified  pride.  .  .  .  From  the  period  of  which  we 
have  been  speaking,  Mr.  Henry  became  the  idol  of  the 
people  of  Virginia."8 

1  Works  of  John  Adams,  ii.  249. 

2  Works  ofJefftrson,  vi.  368.  8  Life  of  Henry,  66. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

STEADY     WORK. 

FROM  the  close  of  Patrick  Henry's  first  term  in  the 
Virginia  house  of  burgesses,  in  the  spring  of  1765,  to 
the  opening  of  his  first  term  in  the  Continental  Congress, 
in  the  fall  of  1774,  there  stretches  a  period  of  about  nine 
years,  which,  for  the  purposes  of  our  present  study,  may 
be  rapidly  glanced  at  and  passed  by. 

In  general,  it  may  be  described  as  a  period  during 
which  he  had  settled  down  to  steady  work,  both  as  a 
lawyer  and  as  a  politician.  The  first  five  years  of  his 
professional  life  had  witnessed  his  advance,  as  we  have 
seen,  by  strides  which  only  genius  can  make,  from  great 
obscurity  to  great  distinction  ;  his  advance  from  a  con 
dition  of  universal  failure  to  one  of  success  so  universal 
that  his  career  may  be  said  to  have  become  within  that 
brief  period  solidly  established.  At  the  bar,  upon  the 
hustings,  in  the  legislature,  as  a  master  of  policies,  as  a 
leader  of  men,  he  had  already  proved  himself  to  be,  of 
his  kind,  without  a  peer  in  all  the  colony  of  Virginia,  - 
a  colony  which  was  then  the  prolific  mother  of  great 
men.  With  him,  therefore,  the  period  of  training  and  of 
tentative  struggle  had  passed :  the  period  now  entered 
upon  was  one  of  recognized  mastership  and  of  assured 
performance,  along  lines  certified  by  victories  that  came 
gayly,  and  apparently  at  his  slightest  call. 

We  note,  at  the  beginning  of  this  period,  an  event  in- 


STEADY   WORK.  81 

dicating  substantial  prosperity  in  his  life :  he  acquires 
the  visible  dignity  of  a  country-seat.  Down  to  the  end 
of  1763,  and  possibly  even  to  the  summer  of  1765,  he 
had  lived  with  his  family  at  the  public  house  in  Han 
over,  kept  by  his  father-in-law.  After  coming  back 
from  his  first  term  of  service  in  the  house  of  burgesses, 
where  he  had  sat  as  member  for  the  county  of  Louisa, 
he  removed  his  residence  into  that  county,  and  estab 
lished  himself  there  upon  an  estate  called  Roundabout, 
purchased  by  him  of  his  father.  In  1768  he  returned 
to  Hanover,  and  in  1771  he  bought  a  place  in  that 
county  called  Scotch  Town,  winch  continued  to  be  his 
seat  until  shortly  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
when,  having  become  governor  of  the  new  State  of  Vir 
ginia,  he  took  up  his  residence  at  Williamsburg,  in  the 
palace  long  occupied  by  the  official  representatives  of 
royalty. 

For  the  practice  of  his  profession,  the  earlier  portion 
of  this  period  was  perhaps  not  altogether  unfavorable. 
The  political  questions  then  in  debate  were,  indeed,  ex 
citing,  but  they  had  not  quite  reached  the  ultimate 
issue,  and  did  not  yet  demand  from  him  the  complete 
surrender  of  his  life.  Those  years  seem  to  have  been 
marked  by  great  professional  activity  on  his  part,  and 
by  considerable  growth  in  his  reputation,  even  for  the 
higher  and  more  difficult  work  of  the  law.  Of  course, 
as  the  vast  controversy  between  the  colonists  and  Great 
Britain  grew  in  violence,  all  controversies  between 
one  colonist  and  another  began  to  seem  petty,  and  to  be 
postponed  ;  even  the  courts  ceased  to  meet  with  much 
regularity,  and  finally  ceased  to  meet  at  all ;  while 
Patrick  Henry  himself,  forsaking  his  private  concerns, 
became  entirely  absorbed  in  the  concerns  of  the  public. 


82  PATRICK  HENRY. 

The  fluctuations  in  his  engagements  as  a  lawyer,  dur 
ing  all  these  years,  may  be  traced  with  some  certainty 
by  the  entries  in  his  fee-books.  For  the  year  1765,  he 
charges  fees  in  547 cases ;  for  1766,  in  114  cases;  for 
1767,  in  554  cases;  for  1768,  in  354  cases.  With  the 
next  year  there  begins  a  great  falling  off  in  the  num 
ber  of  his  cases  ;  and  the  decline  continues  till  1774, 
when,  in  the  convulsions  of  the  time,  his  practice  stops 
altogether.  Thus,  for  1769,  there  are  registered  132 
cases;  for  1770,94  cases;  for  1771,  102  cases;  for 
1772,  43  cases  ;  for  1773,7  cases;  and  for  1774,  none.1 

The  character  of  the  professional  work  done  by  him 
during  this  period  deserves  a  moment's  consideration. 
Prior  to  1769,  he  had  limited  himself  to  practice  in  the 
Courts  of  the  several  counties.  In  that  year  he  began 
to  practise  in  the  general  court,  —  the  highest  court  in 
the  colony,  —  where  of  course  were  tried  the  most  im 
portant  and  difficult  causes,  and  where  thenceforward 
he  had  constantly  to  encounter  the  most  learned  and 
acute  lawyers  at  the  bar,  including  such  men  as  Pendle- 
ton,  Wythe,  Blair,  Mercer,  John  Randolph,  Thompson 
Mason,  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  Robert  C.  Nicholas.2 

There  could  never  have  been  any  doubt  of  his  supreme 
competency  to  deal  with  such  criminal  causes  as  he  had 
to  manage  in  that  court  or  in  any  other ;  and  with  re 
spect  to  the  conduct  of  other  than  criminal  causes,  all 
purely  contemporaneous  evidence,  now  to  be  had,  im 
plies  that  he  had  not  ventured  to  present  himself  before 
the  higher  tribunals  of  the  land  until  he  had  qualified 
himself  to  bear  his  part  there  with  success  and  honor. 
Thus,  the  instance  may  be  mentioned  of  his  appearing 
in  the  court  of  admiralty,  "in  behalf  of  a  Spanish 
i  MS.  a  Wirt,  70,  71. 


STEADY  WORK.  83 

captain,  whose  vessel  and  cargo  had  been  libelled.  A 
gentleman  who  was  present,  and  who  was  very  well 
qualified  to  judge,  was  heard  to  declare,  after  the  trial 
was  over,  that  he  never  heard  a  more  eloquent  or  argu 
mentative  speech  in  his  life ;  that  Mr.  Henry  was  on  that 
occasion  greatly  superior  to  Mr.  Pendletou,  Mr.  Mason, 
or  any  other  counsel  who  spoke  to  the  subject ;  and  that 
he  was  astonished  how  Mr.  Henry  could  have  acquired 
such  a  knowledge  of  the  maritime  law,  to  which  it  was 
believed  he  had  never  before  turned  his  attention." 1 
Moreover,  in  1771,  just  two  years  from  the  time  when 
Patrick  Henry  began  practice  in  the  general  court, 
Robert  C.  Nicholas,  then  a  veteran  member  of  the  pro 
fession,  "  who  had  enjoyed  the  first  practice  at  the  bar," 
had  occasion  to  retire,  and  began  looking  about  among 
the  younger  men  for  some  competent  lawyer  to  whom 
he  might  safely  intrust  the  unfinished  business  of  his 
clients.  He  first  offered  his  practice  to  Thomas  Jef 
ferson,  who,  however,  was  compelled  to  decline  it.  Af 
terward,  he  offered  it  to  Patrick  Henry,  who  accepted 
it ;  and  accordingly,  by  public  advertisement,  Nicholas 
informed  his  clients  that  he  had  committed  to  Patrick 
Henry  the  further  protection  of  their  interests,2  —  a  per 
fectly  conclusive  proof,  it  should  seem,  of  the  real  re 
spect  in  which  Patrick  Henry's  qualifications  as  a  law 
yer  were  then  held,  not  only  by  the  public  but  by  the 
profession.  Certainly,  such  evidence  as  this  can  hardly 
be  set  aside  by  the  supposed  recollections  of  one  old 
gentleman,  of  broken  memory  and  unbroken  resentment, 
who  long  afterward  tried  to  convince  Wirt  that,  even  at 
the  period  now  in  question,  Patrick  Henry  was  "  wofully 

1  Wirt,  71,  72. 

2  Randall,  Life  of  Jefferson,  i.  49  ;  Wirt,  77. 


84  PATRICK  HENRY. 

deficient  as  a  lawyer,"  was  unable  to  contend  with  his 
associates  "  on  a  mere  question  of  law,"  and  was  "  so 
little  acquainted  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  his 
profession  ...  as  not  to  be  able  to  see  the  remote 
bearings  of  the  reported  cases."  l  The  expressions  here 
quoted  are,  apparently,  Wirt's  own  paraphrase  of  the 
statements  which  were  made  to  him  by  Jefferson,  and 
which,  in  many  of  their  details,  can  now  be  proved,  on 
documentary  evidence,  to  be  the  work  of  a  hand  that  had 
forgot,  not  indeed  its  cunning,  but  at  any  rate  its  ac 
curacy. 

As  to  the  political  history  of  Patrick  Henry  during 
this  period,  it  may  be  easily  described.  The  doctrine 
on  which  he  had  planted  himself  by  his  resolutions  in 
1765,  namely,  that  the  parliamentary  taxation  of  unrep 
resented  colonies  is  unconstitutional,  became  the  avowed 
doctrine  of  Virginia,  and  of  all  her  sister  colonies ;  and 
nearly  all  the  men  who,  in  the  house  of  burgesses,  had, 
for  reasons  of  propriety,  or  of  expediency,  or  of  per 
sonal  feeling,  opposed  the  passage  of  his  resolutions, 
soon  took  pains  to  make  it  known  to  their  constituents 
that  their  opposition  had  not  been  to  the  principle 
which  those  resolutions  expressed.  Thenceforward, 
among  the  leaders  in  Virginian  politics,  there  was  no 
real  disagreement  on  the  fundamental  question ;  only 
such  disagreement  as  to  methods  as  must  always  occur 
between  spirits  who  are  cautious  and  spirits  who  are 
bold.  Chief  among  the  former  were  Pendleton,  Wytlie, 
Bland,  Peyton  Randolph,  and  Nicholas.  In  the  van  of 
the  latter  always  stood  Patrick  Henry,  and  with  him, 
Jefferson,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  the  Pages,  and  George 
Mason.  But  between  the  two  groups,  after  all,  was  sur« 
i  Wirt,  71. 


STEADY  WORK.  85 

prising  harmony,  which  is  thus  explained  by  one  who 
in  all  that  business  had  a  great  part  and  who  never  was 
a  laggard :  "  Sensible,  however,  of  the  importance  of 
unanimity  among  our  constituents,  although  we  oi'ten 
wished  to  have  gone  faster,  we  slackened  our  pace,  that 
our  less  ardent  colleagues  might  keep  up  with  us  ;  and 
they,  on  their  part,  differing  nothing  from  us  in  prin 
ciple,  quickened  their  gait  somewhat  beyond  that  which 
their  prudence  might  of  itself  have  advised,  and  thus 
consolidated  the  phalanx  which  breasted  the  power  of 
Britain.  By  this  harmony  of  the  bold  with  the  cau 
tious,  we  advanced  with  our  constituents  in  undivided 
mass,  and  with  fewer  examples  of  separation  than,  per 
haps,  existed  in  any  other  part  of  the  union."  1  All 
deprecated  a  quarrel  with  Great  Britain  ;  all  deprecated 
as  a  boundless  calamity  the  possible  issue  of  indepen 
dence  ;  all  desired  to  remain  in  loyal,  free,  and  honor 
able  connection  with  the  British  Empire  ;  and  against 
the  impending  danger  of  an  assault  upon  the  freedom, 
and  consequently  the  honor,  of  this  connection,  all  stood 
on  guard. 

One  result,  however,  of  this  practical  unanimity 
among  the  leaders  in  Virginia  was  the  absence,  during 
all  this  period,  of  those  impassioned  and  dramatic  con 
flicts  in  debate,  which  would  have  called  forth  historic 
exhibitions  of  Patrick  Henry's  eloquence  and  of  his 
gifts  for  conduct  and  command.  He  had  a  leading 
part  in  all  the  counsels  of  the  time ;  he  was  sent  to 
every  session  of  the  house  of  burgesses  ;  he  was  at  the 
front  in  all  local  committees  and  conventions  ;  lie  was 
made  a  member  of  the  first  committee  of  correspond 
ence  ;  and  all  these  incidents  in  this  portion  of  his  life 
1  Jefferson's  Works,  vi.  368, 


86  PATRICK  HENRY. 

culminated  in  his  mission  as  one  of  the  deputies  from 
Virginia  to  the  first  continental  congress. 

Without  here  going  into  the  familiar  story  of  the  oc 
casion  and  purposes  of  the  congress  of  1774,  we  may 
briefly  indicate  Patrick  Henry's  relation  to  the  events 
in  Virginia  which  immediately  preceded  his  appoint 
ment  to  that  renowned  assemblage.  On  the  24th  of 
May,  1774,  the  house  of  burgesses,  having  received  the 
alarming  news  of  the  passage  of  the  Boston  port  bill, 
designated  the  day  on  which  that  bill  was  to  take 
effect  —  the  first  day  of  June  —  "as  a  day  of  fasting, 
humiliation,  and  prayer,  devoutly  to  implore  the  Divine 
interposition  for  averting  the  heavy  calamity  which 
threatens  destruction  to  our  civil  rights,  and  the  evils 
of  civil  war ;  to  give  us  one  heart  and  one  mind  firmly 
to  oppose,  by  all  just  and  proper  means,  every  injury 
to  American  rights ;  and  that  the  minds  of  his  majesty 
and  his  parliament  may  be  inspired  from  above  with 
wisdom,  moderation,  and  justice,  to  remove  from  the 
loyal  people  of  America  all  cause  of  danger,  from  a  con 
tinued  pursuit  of  measures  pregnant  with  their  ruin."  1 
Two  days  afterward,  the  governor,  Lord  Dunmore, 
having  summoned  the  house  to  the  council  chamber, 
made  to  them  this  little  speech :  "  Mr.  Speaker  and 
gentlemen  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  I  have  in  my 
hand  a  paper  published  by  order  of  your  house,  con 
ceived  in  such  terms  as  reflect  highly  upon  his  majesty 
and  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain,  which  makes  it 
necessary  for  me  to  dissolve  you,  and  you  are  dissolved 
accordingly."  2  At  ten  o'clock  on  the  following  day, 
May  27th,  the  members  of  the  late  house  met  by 
agreement  at  the  Raleigh  Tavern,  and  there  promptly 
1  4  Am.  Arch.,  i.  350.  2  Campbell,  Hist.  Va.,  573. 


STEADY  WORK.  87 

passed  a  nobly-worded  resolution,  deploring  the  policy 
pursued  by  parliament  and  suggesting  the  establishment 
of  an  annual  congress  of  all  the  colonies,  "to  deliberate 
on  those  general  measures  which  the  united  interests  of 
America  may  from  time  to  time  require."  ] 

During  the  anxious  days  and  nights  immediately  pre 
ceding  the  dissolution  of  the  house,  its  prominent  mem 
bers  held  many  private  conferences  with  respect  to  the 
course  to  be  pursued  by  Virginia.  In  all  these  con 
ferences,  as  we  are  told,  "  Patrick  Henry  was  the 
leader  "  ; 2  and  a  very  able  man,  George  Mason,  who 
was  just  then  a  visitor  at  Williamsburg,  and  was  ad 
mitted  to  the  consultations  of  the  chiefs,  wrote  at  the 
time  concerning  him :  "  He  is  by  far  the  most  powerful 
speaker  I  ever  heard.  .  .  .  But  his  eloquence  is  the 
smallest  part  of  his  merit.  He  is,  in  my  opinion,  the 
first  man  upon  this  continent,  as  well  in  abilities  as 
public  virtues."  3 

In  response  to  a  recommendation  made  by  leading 
members  of  the  recent  house  of  burgesses,  a  convention 
of  delegates  from  the  several  counties  of  Virginia  as 
sembled  at  Williamsburg,  on  August  1,  1774,  to  deal 
with  the  needs  of  the  hour,  and  especially  to  appoint 
deputies  to  the  proposed  congress  at  Philadelphia. 
The  spirit  in  which  this  convention  transacted  its  busi 
ness  is  sufficiently  shown  in  the  opening  paragraphs  of 
the  letter  of  instructions  which  it  gave  to  the  deputies 
whom  it  sent  to  the  congress.  "The  unhappy  disputes 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  i.  350,  351.     The  narrative  of  these  events  as  given 
by  Wirt  and  by  Campbell  has  several  errors.   They  seem  to  have  been 
misled  by  Jefferson,  who,  in  his  account  of  the  business  (  Works,  i. 
122,  123),  is,  if  possible  rather  more  inaccurate  than  usual. 

2  Campbell,  Hist.  Va.,  573. 

8  Mason  to  Martin  Cockburn,  Va.  Hist.  Reg.,  iii.  27-29. 


88  PATRICK  HENRY. 

between  Great  Britain  and  her  American  colonies, 
which  began  about  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  his 
present  majesty,  and  since,  continually  increasing,  have 
proceeded  to  lengths  so  dangerous  and  alarming  as  to 
excite  just  apprehensions  in  the  minds  of  his  majesty's 
faithful  subjects  of  this  colony,  that  they  are  in  danger 
of  being  deprived  of  their  natural,  ancient,  constitu 
tional,  and  chartered  rights,  have  compelled  them  to 
take  the  same  into  their  most  serious  consideration ; 
and  being  deprived  of  their  usual  and  accustomed  mode 
of  making  known  their  grievances,  have  appointed  us 
their  representatives,  to  consider  what  is  proper  to  be 
done  in  this  dangerous  crisis  of  American  affairs. 

"  It  being  our  opinion  that  the  united  wisdom  of 
North  America  should  be  collected  in  a  general  con 
gress  of  all  the  colonies,  we  have  appointed  the  honor 
able  Peyton  Randolph,  Esquire,  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry,  Richard  Bland, 
Benjamin  Harrison,  and  Edmund  Pendleton,  Esquires, 
deputies  to  represent  this  colony  in  the  said  Congress, 
to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  on  the  first  Monday  in  Sep 
tember  next.  And  that  they  may  be  the  better  in 
formed  of  our  sentiments  touching  the  conduct  we  wish 
them  to  observe  on  this  important  occasion,  we  desire 
that  they  will  express,  in  the  first  place,  our  faith  and 
true  allegiance  to  his  majesty  King  George  the  Third, 
our  lawful  and  rightful  sovereign  ;  and  that  we  are  de 
termined,  with  our  lives  and  fortunes,  to  support  him  in 
the  legal  exercise  of  all  his  just  rights  and  prerogatives  ; 
and  however  misrepresented,  we  sincerely  approve  of  a 
constitutional  connection  with  Great  Britain,  and  wish 
most  ardently  a  return  of  that  intercourse  of  affection 
and  commercial  connection  that  formerly  united  both 


STEADY  WORK.  89 

countries  ;  which  can  only  be  effected  by  a  removal  of 
those  causes  of  discontent  which  have  of  late  unhappily 
divided  us.  ...  The  power  assumed  by  the  British 
parliament  to  bind  America  by  their  statutes,  in  all 
cases  whatsoever,  is  unconstitutional,  and  the  source  of 
these  unhappy  differences."  l 

The  convention  at  Williamsburg,  of  which,  of  course, 
Patrick  Henry  was  a  member,  seems  to  have  adjourned 
on  Saturday,  the  6th  of  August.  Between  that  date 
and  the  time  for  his  departure  to  attend  the  congress  at 
Philadelphia,  we  may  imagine  him  as  busily  engaged  in 
arranging  his  affairs  for  a  long  absence  from  home,  and 
even  then  as  not  getting  ready  to  begin  the  long  jour 
ney  until  many  of  his  associates  had  nearly  reached  the 
end  of  it. 

1  The  full  text  of  this  letter  of  instructions  is  given  in  4  Am.  Arch., 
i.  689,  690.  With  this  should  be  compared  note  C.  in  Jefferson's 
Works,  i.  122-142. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IN    THE    FIRST    CONTINENTAL    CONGRESS. 

ON  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  the  30th  of  August, 
Patrick  Henry  arrived  on  horseback  at  Mt.  Vernon, 
the  home  of  his  friend  and  colleague,  George  Washing 
ton  ;  and  having  remained  there  that  day  and  night,  he 
set  out  for  Philadelphia  on  the  following  morning,  in 
the  company  of  Washington  and  of  Edmund  Pendleton. 
From  the  jottings  in  Washington's  diary,1  we  can  so  far 
trace  the  progress  of  this  trio  of  illustrious  horsemen,  as 
to  ascertain  that  on  Sunday,  the  4th  of  September,  they 
"  breakfasted  at  Christiana  Ferry  ;  dined  at  Chester  ;  " 
and  reached  Philadelphia  for  supper  —  thus  arriving  in 
town  barely  in  time  to  be  present  at  the  first  meeting 
of  the  congress  on  the  morning  of  the  5th. 

John  Adams  had  taken  pains  to  get  upon  the  ground 
nearly  a  week  earlier ;  and  carefully  gathering  all  pos 
sible  information  concerning  his  future  associates,  few 
of  whom  he  had  then  ever  seen,  he  wrote  in  his  Diary 
that  the  Virginians  were  said  to  "  speak  in  raptures 
about  Richard  Henry  Lee  and  Patrick  Henry,  one  the 
Cicero,  and  the  other  the  Demosthenes,  of  the  age."  2 

Not  far  from  the  same  time,  also,  a  keen-witted  Vir 
ginian,  Roger  Atkinson,  at  his  home  near  Petersburg, 
was  writing  to  a  friend  about  the  men  who  had  gone  to 

1  Washington's  Writings,  u.  503. 

2  Works  of  John  Adams,  ii.  367. 


IN  THE  FIRST   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.       91 

represent  Virginia  in  the  great  congress  ;  and  this  let 
ter  of  his,  though  not  meant  for  posterity,  has  some 
neat,  off-hand  portraits  which  posterity  may,  neverthe 
less,  be  glad  to  look  at.  Peyton  Randolph  is  "  a  ven 
erable  man  ...  an  honest  man  ;  has  knowledge,  temper, 
experience,  judgment,  —  above  all,  integrity ;  a  true 
Roman  spirit."  Richard  Bland  is  '%  a  wary,  old,  ex= 
perienced  veteran  at  the  bar  and  in  the  senate  ;  has 
something  of  the  look  of  old  musty  parchments,  which 
he  handleth  and  studieth  much.  He  formerly  wrote  a 
treatise  against  the  Quakers  on  water- baptism."  Wash 
ington  "  is  a  soldier,  —  a  warrior  ;  he  is  a  modest  man  ; 
sensible  ;  speaks  little  ;  in  action  cool,  like  a  bishop  at 
his  prayers."  Pendleton  "  is  an  humble  and  religious 
man,  and  must  be  exalted.  He  is  a  smooth-tongued 
speaker,  and,  though  not  so  old,  may  be  compared  to 
old  Nestor,  — 

'Experienced  Nestor,  in  persuasion  skilled, 
Words  sweet  as  honey  from  his  lips  distilled.'  " 

But  Patrick  Henry  "  is  a  real  half-Quaker,  —  your 
brother's  man,  —  moderate  and  mild,  and  in  religious 
matters  a  saint ;  but  the  very  devil  in  politics  ;  a  son  of 
thunder.  He  will  shake  the  senate.  Some  years  ago 
he  had  liked  to  have  talked  treason  into  the  house."  l 

Few  of  the  members  of  this  congress  had  ever  met 
before ;  and  if  all  had  arrived  upon  the  scene  as  late 
as  did  these  three  members  from  Virginia,  there  might 
have  been  some  difficulty,  through  a  lack  of  previous 
consultation  and  acquaintance,  in  organizing  the  con 
gress  on  the  day  appointed,  and  in  entering  at  once 
upon  its  business.  Jn  fact,  however,  more  than  a  week 
before  the  time  for  the  first  meeting,  the  delegates 
l  Meade,  Old  Churches  and  Families  of  Va.,  i.  220,  221. 


92  PATRICK  HENRY. 

had  beguu  to  make  their  appearance  in  Philadelphia ; 
thenceforward  with  each  day  the  arrivals  continued ;  by 
Thursday,  the  1st  of  September,  twenty-five  delegates, 
nearly  one  half  of  the  entire  body  elected,  were  in 
town  ; l  and  probably,  during  all  that  week,  no  day  and 
110  night  had  passed  without  many  an  informal  con 
ference  respecting  the  business  before  them,  and  the 
best  way  of  doing  it. 

Concerning  these  memorable  men  of  the  first  conti 
nental  congress,  it  must  be  confessed  that  as  the  mists 
of  a  hundred  years  of  glorifying  oratory  and  of  semi- 
poetic  history  have  settled  down  upon  them,  they  are 
now  enveloped  in  a  light  which  seems  to  distend  their 
forms  to  proportions  almost  superhuman,  and  to  cast 
upon  their  faces  a  gravity  that  hardly  belongs  to  this 
world ;  and  it  may,  perhaps,  help  us  to  bring  them  and 
their  work  somewhat  nearer  to  the  plane  of  natural 
human  life  and  motive,  and  into  a  light  that  is  as  the 
light  of  reality,  if,  turning  to  the  daily  memoranda  made 
at  the  time  by  one  of  their  number,  we  can  see  how 
merrily,  after  all,  nay,  with  what  flowing  feasts,  with 
what  convivial  commuuings,  passed  those  days  and 
nights  of  preparation  for  the  difficult  business  they  were 
about  to  take  in  hand. 

For  example,  on  Monday,  the  29th  of  August,  when 
the  four  members  of  the  Massachusetts  delegation  had 
arrived  within  five  miles  of  the  city,  they  were  met  by 
an  escort  of  gentlemen,  partly  residents  of  Philadelphia, 
and  partly  delegates  from  other  colonies,  who  had  come 
out  in  carriages  to  greet  them.  "  We  were  introduced," 
writes  John  Adams,  "  to  all  these  gentlemen,  and  most 
cordially  welcomed  to  Philadelphia.  We  then  rode  into 
1  Works  of  John  Adams,  ii.  361. 


IN   THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.       93 

town,  and  dirty,  dusty,  and  fatigued  as  we  were,  we 
could  not  resist  the  importunity  to  go  to  the  tavern,  the 
most  genteel  one  iii  America.  There  we  were  intro 
duced  to  a  number  of  other  gentlemen  of  the  city,  .  .  . 
and  to  Mr.  Lynch  and  Mr.  Gadsden,  of  South  Carolina. 
Here  we  had  a  fresh  welcome  to  the  city  of  Philadel 
phia  ;  and  after  some  time  spent  in  conversation,  a  cur- 
tain  was  drawn,  and  in  the  other  half  of  the  chamber  a 
supper  appeared  as  elegant  as  ever  was  laid  upon  a 
table.  About  eleven  o'clock  we  retired." 

u  30,  Tuesday.  Walked  a  little  about  town ;  visited 
the  market,  the  State  House,  the  Carpenters'  Hall, 
where  the  congress  is  to  sit,  etc;  then  called  at  Mr. 
Mifflin's,  a  grand,  spacious,  and  elegant  house.  Here 
we  had  much  conversation  with  Mr.  Charles  Thomson, 
who  is  ...  the  Sam  Adams  of  Philadelphia,  the  life 
of  the  cause  of  liberty,  they  say.  A  Friend,  Collins, 
came  to  see  us,  and  invited  us  to  dine  on  Thursday. 
We  returned  to  our  lodgings,  and  Mr.  Lynch,  Mr. 
Gadsden,  Mr.  Middleton,  arid  young  Mr.  Rutledge  came 
to  visit  us." 

"31,  Wednesday.  Breakfasted  at  Mr.  Bayard's,  of 
Philadelphia,  with  Mr.  Sprout,  a  Presbyterian  minister. 
Made  a  visit  to  Governor  Ward  of  Rhode  Island,  at 
his  lodgings.  There  we  were  introduced  to  several 
gentlemen.  Mr.  Dickinson,  the  Farmer  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  came  in  his  coach  with  four  beautiful  horses  to 
Mr.  Ward's  lodgings,  to  see  us.  ...  We  dined  with 
Mr.  Lynch,  his  lady  arid  daughter,  at  their  lodgings, 
.  .  .  and  a  very  agreeable  dinner  and  afternoon  we  had, 
notwithstanding  the  violent  heat.  We  were  all  vastly 
pleased  with  Mr.  Lynch.  He  is  a  solid,  firm,  judicious 
man." 


94  PATRICK  HENRY. 

"  September  1,  Thursday.  This  day  we  breakfasted 
at  Mr.  Mifflin's.  Mr.  C.  Thomson  came  in,  and  soon 
after  Dr.  Smith,  the  famous  Dr.  Smith,  the  provost  of 
the  college.  .  .  .  We  then  went  to  return  visits  to  the 
gentlemen  who  had  visited  us.  We  visited  a  Mr.  Cad- 
wallader,  a  gentleman  of  large  fortune,  a  grand  and  ele 
gant  house  and  furniture.  We  then  visited  Mr.  Powell, 
another  splendid  seat.  We  then  visited  the  gentlemen 
from  South  Carolina,  and,  about  twelve,  were  introduced 
to  Mr.  Galloway,  the  speaker  of  the  house  in  Pennsyl 
vania.  We  dined  at  Friend  Collins'.  .  .  .  with  Gov 
ernor  Hopkins,  Governor  Ward,  Mr.  Galloway,  Mr. 
Rhoades,  etc.  In  the  evening  all  the  ^entlemen  "of  the 
congress  who  were  arrived  in  town  met  at  Smith's,  the 
new  city  tavern,  and  spent  the  evening  together.  Twenty 
five  members  were  come.  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
Maryland,  and  the  city  of  New  York  were  not  arrived." 

"  2,  Friday.  Dined  at  Mr.  Thomas  Mifllin's  with 
Mr.  Lynch.  Mr.  Middleton,  and  the  two  Rutledges  with 
their  ladies.  .  .  .  We  were  very  sociable  and  happy. 
After  coffee  we  went  to  the  tavern,  where  we  were  intro 
duced  to  Peyton  Randolph,  Esquire,  speaker  of  Virginia, 
Colonel  Harrison,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Esquire,  and 
Colonel  Bland.  .  .  .  These  gentlemen  from  Virginia 
appear  to  be  the  most  spirited  and  consistent  of  any. 
Harrison  said  he  would  have  come  on  foot  rather  than 
not  come.  Bland  said  he  would  have  gone,  upon  this 
occasion,  if  it  bad  been  to  Jericho." 

"3,  Saturday.  Breakfasted  at  Dr.  Shippen's ;  Dr. 
Witherspoon  was  there.  Col.  R.  H.  Lee  lodges  there  ; 
he  is  a  masterly  man.  .  .  .  We  went  with  Mr.  William 
Barrell  to  his  store,  and  drank  punch,  and  ate  dried 
Binoked  sprats  with  him ;  read  the  papers  and  our  letters 


IN  THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL    CONGRF:SS.       95 

from  Boston  ;  dined  with  Mr.  Joseph  Reed,  the  lawyer; 
.  .  .  spent  the  evening  at  Mr.  Mifflin's,  with  Lee  and 
Harrison  from  Virginia,  the  two  Rutledges,  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon,  Dr.  Shippen,  Dr.  Steptoe,  and  another  gentle 
man  ;  an  elegant  supper,  and  we  drank  sentiments  till 
eleven  o'clock.  Lee  and  Harrison  were  very  high. 
Lee  had  dined  with  Mr.  Dickinson,  and  drank  Burgundy 
the  whole  afternoon."  l 

Accordingly,  at  10  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  the 
5th  of  September,  when  the  delegates  assembled  at 
their  rendezvous,  the  city  tavern,  and  marched  together 
through  the  streets  to  Carpenters'  Hall,  for  most  of 
them  the  stiffness  of  a  first  introduction  was  already 
broken,  and  they  could  greet  one  another  that  morning 
with  something  of  the  freedom  and  good  fellowship  of 
boon  companions.  Moreover,  they  were  then  ready  to 
proceed  to  business  under  the  advantage  of  having  ar 
ranged  beforehand  an  outline  of  what  was  first  to  be 
done.  It  had  been  discovered,  apparently,  that  the  first 
serious  question  which  would  meet  them  after  their 
formal  organization,  w*as  one  relating  to  the  method  of 
voting  in  the  congress,  namely,  whether  each  deputy 
should  have  a  vote,  or  only  each  colony  ;  and  if  the  lat 
ter,  whether  the  vote  of  each  colony  should  be  propor 
tioned  to  its  population  and  property. 

Having  arrived  at  the  hall,  and  inspected  it,  and 
agreed  that  it  would  serve  the  purpose,  the  delegates 
helped  themselves  to  seats.  Then  Mr.  Lynch,  of  South 
Carolina,  arose,  and  nominated  Mr.  Peyton  Randolph, 
of  Virginia,  for  president.  This  nomination  having  been 
unanimously  adopted,  Mr.  Lynch  likewise  proposed  Mr. 
Charles  Thomson  for  secretary,  which  was  carried  with- 
1  Works  of  John  Adams,  ii.  357-364. 


96  PATRICK  HENRY. 

out  opposition  ;  but  as  Mr.  Thomson  was  not  a  delegate, 
aud  of  course  was  not  then  present,  the  doorkeeper  was 
instructed  to  go  out  and  find  him,  and  say  to  him  that 
his  immediate  attendance  was  desired  by  the  congress. 

Next  came  the  production  and  inspection  of  creden 
tials.  The  roll  indicated  that  of  the  fifty-two  delegates 
appointed,  forty-four  were  already  upon  the  ground,  — 
constituting  an  assemblage  of  representative  Americans, 
which,  for  dignity  of  character  and  for  intellectual  emi 
nence,  was  undoubtedly  the  most  imposing  that  the 
colonies  had  ever  seen.  In  that  room  that  day  were 
such  men  as  John  Sullivan,  John  and  Samuel  Adams, 
Stephen  Hopkins,  Roger  Sherman,  James  Duane,  John 
Jay,  Philip  and  William  Livingston,  Joseph  Galloway, 
Thomas  Miftiin,  Caesar  Rodney,  Thomas  McKean, 
George  Read,  Samuel  Chase,  John  and  Edward  Rut- 
ledge,  Christopher  Gadsden,  Henry  Middleton,  Edmund 
Pendleton,  George  Washington,  and  Patrick  Henry. 

Having  thus  got  through  with  the  mere  routine  of 
organization,  which  must  have  taken  a  considerable  time, 
James  Duane,  of  New  York,  mov%d  the  appointment  of 
a  committee  "  to  prepare  regulations  for  this  congress." 
To  this  several  gentlemen  objected;  whereupon  John 
Adams,  thinking  that  Duane's  purpose  might  have  been 
misunderstood,  "  asked  leave  of  the  President  to  request 
of  the  gentleman  from  New  York  an  explanation,  and 
that  he  would  point  out  some  particular  regulations  which 
he  had  in  his  mind."  In  reply  to  this  request,  Duane, 
"  mentioned  particularly  the  method  of  voting,  whether 
it  should  be  by  colonies,  or  by  the  poll,  or  by  interests." l 
Thus  Duane  laid  his  finger  on  perhaps  the  most  sensi 
tive  nerve  in  that  assemblage ;  but  as  he  sat  down,  the 
l  Work*  of  John  Adams,  ii.  3G5. 


IN   THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.       97 

discussion  of  the  subject  which  he  had  mentioned  was 
interrupted  by  a  rather  curious  incident.  This  was  the 
return  of  the  doorkeeper,  having  under  his  escort  Mr. 
Charles  Thomson.  The  latter  walked  up  the  aisle,  and 
standing  opposite  to  the  president,  said,  with  a  bow,  that 
he  awaited  his  pleasure.  The  president  replied :  "  Con 
gress  desire  the  favor  of  you,  sir,  to  take  their  minutes." 
Without  a  word,  only  bowing  his  acquiescence,  the 
secretary  took  his  seat  at  his  desk,  and  began  those 
modest  but  invaluable  services  from  which  he  did  not 
cease  until  the  congress  of  the  confederation  was  merged 
into  that  of  the  union. 

The  discussion,  into  which  this  incident  had  fallen  as 
a  momentary  episode,  was  then  resumed.  "  After  a 
short  silence,"  says  the  man  who  was  thus  inducted  into 
office,  "  Patrick  Henry  arose  to  speak.  I  did  not  then 
know  him.  He  was  dressed  in  a  suit  of  parson's  gray, 
and  from  his  appearance  I  took  him  for  a  Presbyterian 
clergyman,  used  to  haranguing  the  people.  He  ob 
served  that  we  were  here  met  in  a  time  and  on  an 
occasion  of  great  difficulty  and  distress  ;  that  our  public 
circumstances  were  like  those  of  a  man  in  deep  embar 
rassment  and  trouble,  who  had  called  his  friends  together 
to  devise  what  was  best  to  be  done  for  his  relief ;  —  one 
would  propose  one  thing,  and  another  a  different  one, 
whilst  perhaps  a  third  would  think  of  something  better 
suited  to  his  unhappy  circumstances,  which  he  would  em 
brace,  and  think  no  more  of  the  rejected  schemes  with 
which  he  would  have  nothing  to  do."  * 

1  Am.  Quarterly  Review,  i.  30,  whence  it  is  quoted  in  Works  of  John 
Adams,  iii.  29,  30,  note.  As  regards  the  value  of  this  testimony  of 
Charles  Thomson,  we  should  note  that  it  is  something  alleged  to  have 
been  said  by  him  at  the  age  of  ninety,  in  a  conversation  with  a  friend, 
and  by  the  latter  reported  to  the  author  of  the  article  above  cited  in 
the  Am.  Quart.  Rev, 


98  PATRICK  HENRY. 

Such  is  the  rather  meagre  account,  as  given  by  one 
ear-witness,  of  Patrick  Henry's  first  speech  in  the  con 
gress  of  1774.  From  another  ear-witness,  we  have 
another  account,  likewise  very  meagre,  but  giving,  prob- 
ablv,  a  somewhat  more  adequate  idea  of  the  drift  and 
point  of  what  he  said  :  "  Mr.  Henry  then  arose,  and 
said  this  was  the  first  general  congress  which  had  ever 
happened;  that  no  former  congress  could  be  a  prece 
dent  ;  that  we  should  have  occasion  for  more  general 
congresses,  and  therefore  that  a  precedent  might  to  be 
established  now  ;  that  it  would  be  a  great  injustice  if  a 
little  colony  should  have  the  same  weight  in  the  coun 
cils  of  America  as  a  great  one ;  and  therefore  he  was 
for  a  committee."  l  The  notable  thing  about  both 
these  accounts  is  that  they  agree  in  showing  Patrick 
Henry's  first  speech  in  congress  to  have  been  not,  as 
has  been  represented,  an  impassioned  portrayal  of 
"general  grievances,"  but  a  plain  and  quiet  handling  of 
a  mere  "  detail  of  business."  In  the  discussion  he  was 
followed  by  John  Sullivan,  who  merely  observed  that 
"  a  little  colony  had  its  all  at  stake  as  well  as  a  great 
one."  The  floor  was  then  taken  by  John  Adams,  who 
seems  to  have  made  a  searching  and  vigorous  argument, 
—  exhibiting  the  great  difficulties  attending  any  possi 
ble  conclusion  to  which  they  might  come  respecting  the 
method  of  voting.  At  the  end  of  his  speech,  appar 
ently,  the  house  adjourned,  to  resume  the  consideration 
of  the  subject  on  the  following  day.3 

1  Works  of  John  Adams,  ii.  365. 

2  It  seems  to  me  that  the  second  paragraph  on  page  366  of  volume 
ii.  of  the  Works  of  John  Adams  must  be  taken  as  his  memorandum 
of  his  own  speech;  and  that  what  follows  on  that  page,  as  well  as  on 
page  307,  and  the  first  half  of  page  368,  is  erroneously  understood  by 
the  editor  as  belonging  to  the  first  day's  debate.     It  must  have  been 


IN  THE  FIRST   CONTINENTAL    CONGRESS.       99 

Accordingly,  on  Tuesday  morning  the  discussion  was 
continued,  and  at  far  greater  length  than  on  the  pre 
vious  day ;  the  first  speaker  being  Patrick  Henry  him 
self,  who  seems  now  to  have  gone  into  the  subject  far 
more  broadly,  and  with  much  greater  intensity  of 
thought,  than  in  his  first  speech.  "  Government,"  said 
he,  "  is  dissolved.  Fleets  and  armies  and  the  present 
state  of  things  show  that  government  is  dissolved. 
Where  are  your  landmarks,  your  boundaries  of  colo 
nies?  We  are  in  a  state  of  nature,  sir.  I  did  pro 
pose  that  a  scale  should  be  laid  down  ;  that  part  of 
North  America  which  was  once  Massachusetts  Bay, 
and  that  part  which  was  once  Virginia,  ought  to  be  con 
sidered  as  having  a  weight.  Will  not  people  complain, 
—  '  Ten  thousand  Virginians  have  not  outweighed  one 
thousand  others '  ? 

"  I  will  submit,  however  ;  I  am  determined  to  submit, 
if  I  am  overruled. 

"  A  worthy  gentleman  near  me  [John  Adams] 
seemed  to  admit  the  necessity  of  obtaining  a  more  ad 
equate  representation. 

"  I  hope  future  ages  will  quote  our  proceedings  with 
applause.  It  is  one  of  the  great  duties  of  the  demo- 
cratical  part  of  the  constitution  to  keep  itself  pure.  It 
is  known  in  my  province  that  some  other  colonies  are 
not  so  numerous  or  rich  as  they  are.  I  am  for  giving 
all  the  satisfaction  in  my  power. 

"  The  distinctions  between  Virginians,  Pennsylvani- 
ans,  New  Yorkers,  and  New  Englanders  are  no  more. 
I  am  not  a  Virginian,  but  an  American. 

an  outline  of  the  second  day's  debate.  This  is  proved  partly  by  the 
fact  that  it  mentions  Lee  as  taking  part  in  the  debate ;  but  according 
to  the  journal,  Lee  did  not  appear  in  congress  until  the  second  day. 
4  Am.  Arch.,  i.  898. 


100  PATRICK  HENRY. 

**  Slaves  are  to  be  thrown  out  of  the  question  ;  and  if 
the  freemen  can  be  represented  according  to  their  num 
bers,  I  am  satisfied." 

The  subject  was  then  debated  at  length  by  Lynch, 
Rutledge,  Ward,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Gadsden,  Bland, 
and  Pendleton,  when  Patrick  Henry  again  rose :  — 

"  I  agree  that  authentic  accounts  cannot  be  had,  if 
by  authenticity  is  meant  attestations  of  officers  of  the 
crown.  I  go  upon  the  supposition  that  government  is 
at  an  end.  All  distinctions  are  thrown  down.  All 
America  is  thrown  into  one  mass.  We  must  aim  at 
the  minutia?  of  rectitude." 

Patrick  Henry  was  then  followed  by  John  Jay,  who 
seems  to  have  closed  the  debate,  and  whose  allusion  to 
what  his  immediate  predecessor  had  said  gives  us  some 
hint  of  the  variations  in  revolutionary  opinion  then  pre 
vailing  among  the  members,  as  well  as  of  the  advanced 
position  always  taken  by  Patrick  Henry :  "  Could  I 
suppose  that  we  came  to  frame  an  American  constitu 
tion,  instead  of  endeavoring  to  correct  the  faults  in  an 
old  one,  I  can't  yet  think  that  all  government  is  at  an 
end.  The  measure  of  arbitrary  power  is  not  full ;  and 
I  think  it  must  run  over,  before  we  undertake  to  frame 
a  new  constitution.  To  the  virtue,  spirit,  and  abilities 
of  Virginia  we  owe  much.  I  should  always,  therefore, 
from  inclination  as  well  as  justice,  be  for  giving  Vir 
ginia  its  full  weight.  I  am  not  clear  that  we  ought  not 
to  be  bound  by  a  majority,  though  ever  so  small ;  but  I 
only  mentioned  it  as  a  matter  of  danger,  worthy  of  con 
sideration."  l 

Of  this  entire  debate,  the  most  significant  issue  is 
indicated  by  the  following  passage  from  the  journal  for 
l   Works  of  John  Adams,  ii.  366-368. 


IN   THE  FIRST   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.    101 

Tuesday,  the  6th  of  September :  "  Resolved,  that  in 
determining  questions  in  this  congress,  each  colony  or 
province  shall  have  one  vote  ;  the  congress  not  being 
possessed  of,  or  at  present  able  to  procure,  proper 
materials  for  ascertaining  the  importance  of  each  col 
ony."  * 

So  far  as  it  is  now  possible  to  ascertain  it,  such  was 
Patrick  Henry's  part  in  the  first  discussion  held  by  the 
first  continental  congress,  —  a  discussion  occupying 
parts  of  two  days,  and  relating  purely  to  methods  of 
procedure  by  that  body,  and  not  to  the  matters  of  griev 
ance  between  the  colonies  and  Great  Britain.  We  have 
a  right  to  infer  something  as  to  the  quality  of  the  first 
impression  made  upon  his  associates  by  Patrick  Henry, 
in  consequence  of  his  three  speeches  in  this  discussion, 
from  the  fact  that  when,  at  the  close  of  it,  an  order  was 
taken  for  the  appointment  of  two  grand  committees, 
one  "  to  state  the  rights  of  the  colonies,"  the  other  "  to 
examine  and  report  the  several  statutes  which  affect 
the  trade  and  manufactures  of  the  colonies,"  Pat 
Henry  was  chosen  to  represent  Virginia  on  the  latter 
committee,2  —  a  position  not  likely  to  have  been  se 
lected  for  a  man  who,  however  eloquent  he  may  have 
seemed,  had  not  also  shown  business-like  and  lawyer- 
like  qualities. 

The  congress  kept  steadily  at  work  from  Monday, 
the  5th  of  September,  to  Wednesday,  the  26th  of  Oc 
tober,  — just  seven  weeks  and  two  days.  Though  not  a 
legislative  body,  it  resembled  all  legislative  bodies  then 
in  existence,  in  the  fact  that  it  sat  with  closed  doors, 
and  that  it  gave  to  the  public  only  such  results  as  it 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  \.  898,  899. 

2  Ibid.  i.  899. 


102  PATRICK  HENRY. 

chose  to  give.  Upon  the  difficult  and  exciting  sub 
jects  which  came  before  it,  there  were,  very  likely, 
many  splendid  passages  of  debate ;  and  we  cannot  doubt 
that  in  all  these  discussions  Patrick  Henry  took  his 
usually  conspicuous  and  powerful  share.  Yet  no  offi 
cial  record  was  kept  of  what  was  said  by  any  member  ; 
and  it  is  only  from  the  hurried  private  memoranda  of 
John  Adams  that  we  are  able  to  learn  anything  more 
respecting  Patrick  Henry's  participation  in  the  debates 
of  those  seven  weeks. 

It  was  on  the  28th  of  September  that  Joseph  Gallo 
way  brought  forward  his  celebrated  plan  for  a  per 
manent  reconciliation  between  Great  Britain  and  her 
colonies.  This  was  simply  a  scheme  for  what  we 
should  now  call  home-rule,  on  a  basis  of  colonial  con 
federation,  with  an  American  parliament  to  be  elected 
every  three  years  by  the  legislatures  of  the  several 
colonies,  and  with  a  governor-general  to  be  appointed 
by  the  crown.  The  plan  came  very  near  to  adoption.1 
The  member  who  introduced  it  was  a  man  of  great 
ability  and  great  influence  ;  it  was  supported  by  James 
Duane  and  John  Jay ;  it  was  pronounced  by  Edward 
'  Rutledge  to  be  "  almost  a  perfect  plan ; "  and  in  the 
final  trial  it  was  lost  only  by  a  vote  of  six  colonies  to 
five.  Could  it  have  been  adopted,  the  disruption  of  the 
British  empire  would  certainly  have  been  averted  for 
that  epoch,  and,  as  an  act  of  violence  and  of  unkind- 
ness,  would  perhaps  have  been  averted  forever ;  while 
the  thirteen  English  colonies  would  have  remained 
English  colonies,  without  ceasing  to  be  free. 

The  plan,  however,  was  distrusted  and  resisted,  with 
stern  and  implacable  hostility,  by  the  more  radical 
1  The  text  of  Galloway's  plan  is  given  in  4  Am.  Arch.,  i.  905.  906. 


IN  THE   FIRST  CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.    103 

members  of  the  congress,  particularly  by  those  from 
Massachusetts  and  Virginia  ;  and  an  outline  of  what 
Patrick  Henry  said  in  his  assault  upon  it,  delivered  on 
the  very  day  on  which  it  was  introduced,  is  thus  given 
by  John  Adams  :  — 

"  The  original  constitution  of  the  colonies  was  founded 
on  the  broadest  and  most  generous  base.  The  regula 
tion  of  our  trade  was  compensation  enough  for  all  the 
protection  we  ever  experienced  from  her. 

"  We  shall  liberate  our  constituents  from  a  corrupt 
house  of  commons,  but  throw  them  into  the  arms  of 
an  American  legislature,  that  may  be  bribed  by  that 
nation  which  avows,  in  the  face  of  the  world,  that 
bribery  is  a  part  of  her  system  of  government. 

"  Before  we  are  obliged  to  pay  taxes  as  they  do,  let 
us  be  as  free  as  they  ;  let  us  have  our  trade  open  with 
all  the  world. 

"  We  are  not  to  consent  by  the  representatives  of 
representatives. 

"  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  present  measures  lead  to 
war."  l 

The  only  other  trace  to  be  discovered  of  Patrick 
Henry's  activity  in  the  debates  of  this  congress  be 
longs  to  the  day  just  before  the  one  on  which  Gallo 
way's  plan  was  introduced.  The  subject  then  under 
discussion  was  the  measure  for  non-importation  and  non- 
exportation.  On  considerations  of  forbearance,  Henry 
tried  to  have  the  date  for  the  application  of  this  meas 
ure  postponed  from  November  to  December,  saying, 
characteristically,  "  We  don't  mean  to  hurt  even  our 
rascals,  if  we  have  any."  2 

1  Works  of  John  Adams,  ii.  390. 

2  Ibid.  ii.  385. 


104  PATRICK  HENRY. 

Probably  the  most  notable  work  done  by  this  con* 
gress  was  its  preparation  of  those  masterly  state  papers 
in  which  it  interpreted  and  affirmed  the  constitutional 
attitude  of  the  colonies,  and  which,  when  laid  upon  the 
table  of  the  House  of  Lords,  drew  forth  the  splendid 
encomium  of  Chatham.1  In  many  respects  the  most 
important,  and  certainly  the  most  difficult,  of  these 
state  papers,  was  the  address  to  the  king.  The  motion 
for  such  an  address  was  made  on  the  1st  of  October. 
On  the  same  day  the  preparation  of  it  was  intrusted  to 
a  very  able  committee,  consisting  of  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
John  Adams,  Thomas  Johnson,  Patrick  Henry,  and  John 
Rutledge ;  and  on  the  21st  of  October  the  committee 
was  strengthened  by  the  accession  of  John  Dickinson, 
who  had  entered  the  congress  but  four  days  before.2 
Precisely  what  part  Patrick  Henry  took  in  the  prepara 
tion  of  this  address  is  not  now  known  ;  but  there  is 
no  evidence  whatever  for  the  assertion8  that  the  first 
draft,  which,  when  submitted  to  congress,  proved  to  be 
unsatisfactory,  was  the  work  of  Patrick  Henry.  That 
draft,  as  is  now  abundantly  proved,  was  prepared  by 
the  chairman  of  the  committee,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  but 
after  full  instructions  from  congress  and  from  the  com 
mittee  itself.4  In  its  final  form,  the  address  was  largely 
moulded  by  the  expert  and  gentle  hand  of  John  Dickin 
son.5  No  one  can  doubt,  however,  that  even  though 
Patrick  Henry  may  have  contributed  nothing  to  the 
literary  execution  of  this  fine  address,  he  was  not  in- 

1  Hansard,  Parl.  Hist.,  xviii.  155,  156  (note);  157. 

2  4  Am.  Arch.,  i.  906,  907,  927. 

3  Wirt,  109. 

4  Works  of  John  Adams,  x.  79;  ii.  396,  note;  Lee's  Life  of  R.  H> 
Lee,  i.  116-118,  270-272. 

6  Political  Writings,  ii.  19-29. 


IN  THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS.    105 

active  in  its  construction,1  and  that  he  was  not  likely 
to  have  suggested  any  abatement  from  its  free  and 
manly  spirit. 

The  only  other  committee  on  which  he  is  known  to 
have  served  during  this  congress  was  one  to  which  his 
name  was  added  on  the  19th  of  September,  —  "the 
committee  appointed  to  state  the  rights  of  the  col 
onies,"  2  an  object,  certainly,  far  better  suited  to  the 
peculiarities  of  his  talents  and  of  his  temper  than  that 
of  the  committee  for  the  conciliation  of  a  king. 

Of  course,  the  one  gift  in  which  Patrick  Henry  ex 
celled  all  other  men  of  his  time  and  neighborhood  was 
the  gift  of  eloquence  ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that 
in  many  other  forms  of  effort,  involving,  for  example, 
plain  sense,  practical  experience,  and  knowledge  of 
details,  he  was  often  equalled,  and  perhaps  even  sur 
passed,  by  men  who  had  not  a  particle  of  his  genius  for 
oratory.  This  fact,  the  analogue  of  which  is  common 
in  the  history  of  all  men  of  genius,  seems  to  be  the  basis 
of  an  anecdote  which,  possibly,  is  authentic,  and  which, 
at  any  rate,  has  been  handed  down  by  one  who  was 
always  a  devoted  friend  3  of  the  great  orator.  It  is  said 
that,  after  Henry  and  Lee  had  made  their  first  speeches, 
Samuel  Chase  of  Maryland  was  so  impressed  by  their 
superiority  that  he  walked  over  to  the  seat  of  one  of 
his  colleagues  and  said :  "  We  might  as  well  go  home  ; 
we  are  not  able  to  legislate  with  these  men."  But  some 
days  afterward,  perhaps  in  the  midst  of  the  work  of  the 
committee  on  the  statutes  affecting  trade  and  commerce, 

1  Thus  John  Adams,  on  llth  October,  writes:   "Spent  the  evening 
with  Mr.  Henry  at  his  lodgings,  consulting  about  a  petition  to  the 
king."     Works,  ii.  396. 

2  4  Am.  Arch.,  i.  904. 

*  Judge  John  Tyler,  in  Wirt,  109,  note- 


106  PATRICK  HENRY. 

the  same  member  was  able  to  relieve  himself  by  the  re^ 
mark :  u  Well,  after  all,  I  find  these  are  but  men,  and, 
in  mere  matters  of  business,  but  very  common  men."  l 

It  seems  hardly  right  to  pass  from  these  studies 
upon  the  first  continental  congress,  and  upon  Patrick 
Henry's  part  in  it,  without  some  reference  to  Wirt's 
treatment  of  the  subject  in  a  book  which  has  now  been, 
for  nearly  three  quarters  of  a  century,  the  chief  source 
of  public  information  concerning  Patrick  Henry.  There 
is  perhaps  no  other  portion  of  this  book  which  is  less 
worthy  of  respect.2  It  is  not  only  unhistoric  in  nearly 
all  the  very  few  alleged  facts  of  the  narrative,  but  it 
does  great  injustice  to  Patrick  Henry  by  representing 
him  virtually  as  a  mere  declaimer,  as  an  ill-instructed 
though  most  impressive  rhapsodistin  debate,  and  as  with 
out  any  claim  to  the  character  of  a  serious  statesman, 
or  even  of  a  man  of  affairs ;  while,  by  the  somewhat 
grandiose  and  melodramatic  tone  of  some  portion  of  the 
narrative,  it  is  singularly  out  of  harmony  with  the  real 
tone  of  that  famous  assemblage,  —  an  assemblage  of 
Anglo-Saxon  lawyers,  politicians,  and  men  of  business, 
who  were  probably  about  as  practical  and  sober-minded 
a  company  as  had  been  got  together  on  any  manly  busi 
ness  since  that  of  Runnymede. 

Wirt  begins  by  convening  his  congress  one  day  too 
soon,  namely,  on  the  4th  of  September,  which  was  Sun 
day  ;  and  he  represents  the  members  as  "  personally 
strangers"  to  one  another,  and  as  sitting,  after  their 
preliminary  organization,  in  a  "  long  and  deep  silence," 
the  members  meanwhile  looking  around  upon  each  other 

1  For  another  form  of  this  tradition,  see  Curtis's  Lift  of  Wtbster, 
I  588. 

2  Pages  105 -113. 


IN  THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL    CONGRESS.    107 

with  a  sort  of  helpless  anxiety,  "every  individual" 
being  reluctant  "  to  open  a  business  so  fearfully  momen 
tous."  But  "  in  the  midst  of  this  deep  and  death-like 
silence,  and  just  when  it  was  beginning  to  become  pain 
fully  embarrassing,  Mr.  Henry  arose  slowly,  as  if  borne 
down  by  the  weight  of  the  subject.  After  faltering,  ac 
cording  to  his  habit,  through  a  most  impressive  ex 
ordium,  in  which  he  merely  echoed  back  the  conscious 
ness  of  every  other  heart  in  deploring  his  inability  to 
do  justice  to  the  occasion,  he  launched  gradually  into  a 
recital  of  the  colonial  wrongs.  Rising,  as  he  advanced, 
with  the  grandeur  of  his  subject,  and  glowing  at  length 
with  all  the  majesty  and  expectation  of  the  occasion, 
his  speech  seemed  more  than  that  of  mortal  man.  Even 
those  who  had  heard  him  in  all  his  glory  in  the  house 
of  burgesses  of  Virginia  were  astonished  at  the  manner 
in  which  his  talents  seemed  to  swell  and  expand  them 
selves  to  fill  the  vaster  theatre  in  which  he  was  now 
placed.  There  was  no  rant,  no  rhapsody,  no  labor  of 
the  understanding,  no  straining  of  the  voice,  no  confu 
sion  of  the  utterance.  His  countenance  was  erect,  his 
eye  steady,  his  action  noble,  his  enunciation  clear  and 
firm,  his  mind  poised  on  its  centre,  his  views  of  his  sub 
ject  comprehensive  and  great,  and  his  imagination  cor 
uscating  with  a  magnificence  and  a  variety  which  struck 
even  that  assembly  with  amazement  and  awe.  He  sat 
down  amidst  murmurs  of  astonishment  and  applause ; 
and,  as  he  had  been  before  proclaimed  the  greatest 
orator  of  Virginia,  he  was  now  on  every  hand  admitted 
to  be  the  first  orator  of  America."  l 

This  great  speech  from  Patrick  Henry,  which  cer 
tainly  was  not  made  on  that  occasion,  and  probably  was 
l  Wirt,  105,  106. 


108  PATRICK  HENRY. 

never  made  at  all,  Wirt  causes  to  be  followed  by  a  great 
speech  from  Richard  Henry  Lee,  although  the  journal 
could  have  informed  him  that  Lee  was  not  even  in  the 
house  on  that  day.  Moreover,  he  makes  Patrick  Henry 
to  be  the  author  of  the  unfortunate  first  draft  of  the  ad 
dress  to  the  king,  —  a  document  which  was  written  by 
another  man  ;  and  on  this  fiction  he  founds  two  or  three 
pages  of  lamentation  and  of  homily  with  reference  to 
Patrick  Henry's  inability  to  express  himself  in  writing, 
in  consequence  of  "  his  early  neglect  of  literature."  Fi 
nally,  he  thinks  it  due  "  to  historic  truth  to  record  that  the 
superior  powers  "  of  Patrick  Henry  "  were  manifested 
only  iii  debate  ;  "  and  that,  although  he  and  Richard 
Henry  Lee  "  took  the  undisputed  lead  in  the  assembly," 
•'  during  the  first  days  of  the  session,  while  general 
grievances  were  the  topic,"  yet  they  were  both  "  com 
pletely  thrown  into  the  shade "  "  when  called  down 
from  the  heights  of  declamation  to  that  severer  test  of 
intellectual  excellence,  the  details  of  business,"  —  the 
writer  here  seeming  to  forget  that  "  general  grievances  " 
were  not  the  topic  "  during  the  first  days  of  the  session," 
and  that  the  very  speeches  by  which  these  two  men  are 
said  to  have  made  their  mark  there,  were  speeches  on 
mere  rules  of  the  house  relating  to  methods  of  proced 
ure.1 

Since  the  death  of  Wirt,  and  the  publication  of  the 
biography  of  him  by  Kennedy,  it  has  been  possible 
for  us  to  ascertain  just  how  the  genial  author  of  "  The 
Life  and  Character  of  Patrick  Henry  "  came  to  be  so 
gravely  misled  in  this  part  of  his  book.  "  The  whole 
passage  relative  to  the  first  congress  "  appears  to  have 

1  The  exact  rules  under  debate  during  those  first  two  days  are  given 
in  4  Am.  Arch^  i.  898,  899. 


IN   THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.    109 

been  composed  from  data  furnished  by  Jefferson,  who, 
however,  was  not  a  member  of  that  Congress ;  and  in 
the  original  manuscript  the  very  words  of  Jefferson 
were  surrounded  with  quotation  marks,  and  were  at 
tributed  to  him  by  name.  When,  however,  that  great 
man,  who  loved  not  to  send  out  calumnies  into  the 
world  with  his  own  name  attached  to  them,  came  to  in 
spect  this  portion  of  Wirt's  manuscript,  he  was  moved 
by  his  usual  prudence  to  write  such  a  letter  as  drew 
from  Wirt  the  following  consolatory  assurance :  "  Your 
repose  shall  never  be  endangered  by  any  act  of  mine,  if 
I  can  help  it.  Immediately  on  the  receipt  of  your  last 
letter,  and  before  the  manuscript  had  met  any  other 
eye,  I  wrote  over  again  the  whole  passage  relative  to 
the  first  congress,  omitting  the  marks  of  quotation,  and 
removing  your  name  altogether  from  the  communica 
tion."  1 

The  final  adjournment  of  the  first  continental  con 
gress,  it  will  be  remembered,  did  not  occur  until  its 
members  had  spent  together  more  than  seven  weeks  of 
the  closest  intellectual  intimacy.  Surely,  no  mere  de- 
claimer  however  enchanting,  no  sublime  babbler  on  the 
rights  of  man,  no  political  charlatan  strutting  about  for 
the  display  of  his  preternatural  gift  of  articulate  wind, 
could  have  grappled  in  keen  debate,  for  all  those 
weeks,  on  the  greatest  of  earthly  subjects,  with  fifty  of 
the  ablest  men  in  America,  without  exposing  to  their 
view  all  his  own  intellectual  poverty,  and  without  los 
ing  the  very  last  shred  of  their  intellectual  respect  for 
him.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  impression  formed 
of  Patrick  Henry  as  a  mere  orator  by  his  associates  in 
that  congress,  nothing  can  be  plainer  than  that  those 
1  Kennedy,  Mem.  of  Wirt,  i.  364. 


110  PATRICK  HENRY. 

men  carried  with  them  to  their  homes  that  report  of 
him  as  a  man  of  extraordinary  intelligence,  integrity, 
and  power,  which  was  the  basis  of  his  subsequent  fame 
for  many  years  among  the  American  people.  Long 
afterward,  John  Adams,  who  formed  his  estimate  of 
Patrick  Henry  chiefly  from  what  he  saw  of  him  in  that 
congress,  and  who  was  never  much  addicted  to  bestow 
ing  eulogiums  on  any  man  but  John  Adams,  wrote  to 
Jefferson  that  "in  the  congress  of  1774  there  was  not 
one  member,  except  Patrick  Henry,  who  appeared  .  .  . 
sensible  of  the  precipice,  or  rather  the  pinnacle,  on 
which  we  stood,  and  had  candor  and  courage  enough  to 
acknowledge  it,"  J  To  Wirt  likewise,  a  few  years  later, 
the  same  hard  critic  of  men  testified  that  Patrick  Henry 
always  impressed  him  as  a  person  "  of  deep  reflection, 
keen  sagacity,  clear  foresight,  daring  enterprise,  inflex 
ible  intrepidity,  and  untainted  integrity,  with  an  ardent 
zeal  for  the  liberties,  the  honor,  and  felicity  of  his 
country  and  his  species."  2 

Of  the  parting  interview  between  these  two  men,  at 
the  close  of  that  first  period  of  thorough  personal  ac 
quaintance,  there  remains  from  the  hand  of  one  of 
them  a  graphic  account  that  reveals  to  us  something  of 
the  conscious  kinship  which  seems  ever  afterward  to 
have  bound  together  their  robust  and  impetuous  natures. 
"  When  congress,"  says  John  Adams,  "  had  finished 
their  business,  as  they  thought,  in  the  autumn  of  1774, 
I  had  with  Mr.  Henry,  before  we  took  leave  of  each 
other,  some  familiar  conversation,  in  which  I  expressed 
a  full  conviction  that  our  resolves,  declarations  of  rights, 
enumeration  of  wrongs,  petitions,  remonstrances,  and 
addresses,  associations,  and  non-importation  agreements, 
1  Works  of  John  Adams,  x.  78.  2  ibid.  x.  277. 


IN   THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.    Ill 

however  they  might  be  expected  by  the  people  in  Amer 
ica,  and  however  necessary  to  cement  the  union  of  the 
colonies,  would  be  but  waste  paper  in  England.  Mr. 
Henry  said  they  might  make  some  impression  among  the 
people  of  England,  but  agreed  with  me  that  they  would 
be  totally  lost  upon  the  government.  I  had  but  just 
received  a  short  and  hasty  letter,  written  to  me  by 
Major  Hawley,  of  Northampton,  containing  6  a  few 
broken  hints,'  as  he  called  them,  of  what  he  thought  was 
proper  to  be  done,  and  concluding  l  with  these  words : 
<  After  all,  we  must  fight.'  This  letter  I  read  to  Mr. 
Henry,  who  listened  with  great  attention ;  and  as  soon 
as  I  had  pronounced  the  words,  '  After  all,  we  must 
fight,'  he  raised  his  head,  and  with  an  energy  and  vehe 
mence  that  I  can  never  forget,  broke  out  with:  'By 
God,  I  am  of  that  man's  mind  ! '  "  2 

This  anecdote,  it  may  be  mentioned,  contains  the 
only  instance  on  record,  for  any  period  of  Patrick 
Henry's  life,  implying  his  use  of  what  at  first  may  seem 
a  profane  oath.  John  Adams,  upon  whose  very  fallible 
memory  in  old  age  the  story  rests,  declares  that  he  did 
not  at  the  time  regard  Patrick  Henry's  words  as  an 
oath,  but  rather  as  a  solemn  asseveration,  affirmed  re 
ligiously,  upon  a  very  great  occasion.  At  any  rate, 
that  asseveration  proved  to  be  a  prophecy ;  for  from  it 
there  then  leaped  a  flame  that  lighted  up  for  an  instant 
the  next  inevitable  stage  in  the  evolution  of  events,  — 
the  tragic  and  bloody  outcome  of  all  these  wary  lucu 
brations  and  devices  of  the  assembled  political  wizards 
of  America. 

1  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  letter  from  Hawley  began  with  these 
words,  instead  of  "concluding"  with  them. 

2  Works  of  John  Adams,  x.  277,  278. 


.112  PATRICK  HENRY. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  at  the  very  time  when 
the  congress  at  Philadelphia  was  busy  with  its  stern 
work,  the  people  of  Virginia  were  grappling  with  the 
peril  of  an  Indian  war  assailing  them  from  beyond  their 
western  mountains.  There  has  recently  been  brought 
to  light  a  letter  written  at  Hanover,  on  the  15th  of  Oc 
tober,  1774,  by  the  aged  mother  of  Patrick  Henry,  to 
a  friend  living  far  out  towards  the  exposed  district ; 
and  this  letter  is  a  touching  memorial  both  of  the  gen 
eral  anxiety  over  the  two  concurrent  events,  and  of  the 
motherly  pride  and  piety  of  the  writer:  "  My  son 
Patrick  has  been  gone,  to  Philadelphia  near  seven 
weeks.  The  affairs  of  congress  are  kept  with  great 
secrecy,  nobody  being  allowed  to  be  present.  I  as 
sure  you  we  have  our  lowland  troubles  and  fears  with 
respect  to  Great  Britain.  Perhaps  our  good  God  may 
bring  good  to  us  out  of  these  many  evils  which  threaten 
us,  not  only  from  the  mountains  but  from  the  seas."  J 

1  Peyton,  History  of  Augusta  County,  345,  where  will  be  found  the 
entire  letter. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

"  AFTER     ALL,    WE    MUST     FIGHT." 

WE  now  approach  that  brilliant  passage  in  the  life  of 
Patrick  Henry  when,  in  the  presence  of  the  second  rev 
olutionary  convention  of  Virginia,  he  proclaimed  the 
futility  of  all  further  efforts  for  peace,  and  the  instant 
necessity  of  preparing  to  fight. 

The  speech  which  he  is  said  to  have  made  on  that  oc 
casion  has  been  committed  to  memory  and  declaimed  by 
several  generations  of  American  schoolboys,  and  is  now 
perhaps  familiarly  known  to  a.  larger  number  of  the 
American  people  than  any  other  considerable  bit  of 
secular  prose  in  our  language.  The  old  church  at  Rich 
mond,  in  which  he  made  this  marvellous  speech,  is  in  our 
time  visited  every  year,  as  a  patriotic  shrine,  by  thou 
sands  of  pilgrims,  who  seek  curiously  the  very  spot  upon 
the  floor  where  the  orator  is  believed  to  have  stood  when 
he  uttered  those  words  of  flame.  It  is  chiefly  the  tradi 
tion  of  that  one  speech  which  to-day  keeps  alive,  in  mil 
lions  of  American  homes,  the  name  of  Patrick  Henry, 
and  which  lifts  him,  in  the  popular  faith,  almost  to  the 
rank  of  some  mythical  hero  of  romance. 

In  reality,  that  speech,  and  the  resolutions  in  sup 
port  of  which  that  speech  was  made,  constituted  Patrick 
Henry's  individual  declaration  of  war  against  Great 
Britain.  But  the  question  is  :  To  what  extent,  if  any, 
was  he  therein  original,  or  even  in  advance  of  his  fel 


114  PATRICK  HENRY. 

low-conntrymen,  and  particularly  of  his  associates  in 
the  Virginia  convention  ? 

It  is  essential  to  a  just  understanding  of  the  history  of 
that  crisis  in  revolutionary  thought,  and  it  is  of  very 
nigh  importance,  likewise,  to  the  historic  position  of 
Patrick  Henry,  that  no  mistake  be  committed  here ;  es 
pecially  that  he  be  not  made  the  victim  of  a  disastrous 
reaction  from  any  overstatement l  respecting  the  precise 
nature  and  extent  of  the  service  then  rendered  by  him 
to  the  cause  of  the  revolution. 

We  need,  therefore,  to  glance  for  a  moment  at  the 
period  between  October,  1774,  and  March,  1775,  with 
the  purpose  of  tracing  therein  the  more  important  to 
kens  of  the  growth  of  the  popular  conviction  that  a  war 
with  Great  Britain  had  become  inevitable,  and  was  to 
be  immediately  prepared  for  by  the  several  colonies, — 
two  propositions  which  form  the  substance  of  all  that 
Patrick  Henry  said  on  the  great  occasion  now  before  us. 

As  early  as  the  21st  of  October,  1774,  the  first  con 
tinental  congress,  after  having  suggested  all  possible 
methods  for  averting  war,  made  this  solemn  declaration 
to  the  people  of  the  colonies :  "  We  think  ourselves 
bound  in  duty  to  observe  to  you  that  the  schemes  agi 
tated  against  these  colonies  have  been  so  conducted  as  to 
render  it  prudent  that  you  should  extend  your  views  to 
mournful  events,  and  be  in  all  respects  prepared  for  every 
emergency."  *  Just  six  days  later,  John  Dickinson,  a 
most  conservative  and  peace-loving  member  of  that- con 
gress,  wrote  to  an  American  friend  in  England :  "  I 

1  For  an   example  of  such  overstatement,  see  Wirt,  114-123.     See, 
also,  the  damaging  comments  thereon  by  Rives,  Lije  of  Madison,  i 
63,  64. 

2  4  Am.  Arch.,  i.  928. 


"AFTER  ALL,    WE  MUST  FIGHT"  115 

wish  for  peace  ardently  ;  but  must  say,  delightful  as  it 
is,  it  will  come  more  grateful  by  being  unexpected.  The 
first  act  of  violence  on  the  part  of  administration  in 
America,  or  the  attempt  to  reinforce  General  Gage  this 
winter  or  next  year,  will  put  the  whole  continent  in  arms, 
from  Nova  Scotia  to  Georgia."  l  On  the  following  day, 
the  same  prudent  statesman  wrote  to  another  American 
friend,  also  in  England  :  "  The  most  peaceful  provinces 
are  now  animated  ;  and  a  civil  war  is  unavoidable,  unless 
there  be  a  quick  change  of  British  measures."2  On 
the  29th  of  October,  the  eccentric  Charles  Lee,  who 
was  keenly  watching  the  symptoms  of  colonial  discon 
tent  and  resistance,  wrote  from  Philadelphia  to  an 
English  nobleman  :  "  Virginia,  Rhode  Island,  and  Car 
olina  are  forming  corps.  Massachusetts  Bay  has  long 
had  a  sufficient  number  instructed  to  become  instruc 
tive  of  the  rest.  Even  this  Quakering  province  is  fol 
lowing  the  example.  ...  In  short,  unless  the  ban 
ditti  at  Westminster  speedily  undo  everything  they 
have  clone,  their  royal  paymaster  will  hear  of  reviews 
and  manoeuvres  not  quite  so  entertaining  as  those 
he  is  presented  with  in  Hyde  Park  and  Wimbledon 
Common."3  On  the  1st  of  November,  a  gentleman 
in  Maryland  wrote  to  a  kinsman  in  Glasgow :  "  The 
province  of  Virginia  is  raising  one  company  in  every 
county.  .  .  .  This  province  has  taken  the  hint,  and 
has  begun  to  raise  men  in  every  county  also ;  and  to 
the  northward  they  have  large  bodies,  capable  of  acquit 
ting  themselves  with  honor  in  the  field."4  At  about 
the  same  time,  the  general  assembly  of  Connecticut  or 
dered  that  every  town  should  at  once  supply  itself  with 

i  4  Am.  Arch.,  I  947.  2  Ibid.  i.  947. 

8  Ibid.  i.  949,  950.  4  Ibid.  i.  953. 


116  PATRICK  HENRY. 

"double  the  quantity  of  powder,  balls,  and  flints"  that 
had  been  hitherto  required  by  law.1  On  the  5th  of  No 
vember,  the  officers  of  the  Virginia  troops  accompany 
ing  Lord  Dunmore  on  his  campaign  against  the  Indians 
held  a  meeting  at  Fort  Gower,  on  the  Ohio  River,  and 
passed  this  resolution :  "  That  we  will  exert  every 
power  within  us  for  the  defence  of  American  liberty, 
and  for  the  support  of  her  just  rights  and  privileges,  not 
in  any  precipitate,  riotous,  or  tumultuous  manner,  but 
when  regularly  called  forth  by  the  unanimous  voice  of 
our  countrymen."2  Not  far  from  the  same  time,  the 
people  of  Rhode  Island  carried  off  to  Providence  from 
the  batteries  at  Newport  forty-four  pieces  of  cannon  ;  and 
the  governor  frankly  told  the  commander  of  a  British 
naval  force  near  at  hand  that  they  had  done  this  in  order 
to  prevent  these  cannon  from  falling  into  his  hands, 
and  with  the  purpose  of  using  them  against  "  any  power 
that  might  offer  to  molest  the  colony."  8  Early  in  De 
cember,  the  provincial'  convention  of  Maryland  recom 
mended  that  all  persons  between  sixteen  and  fifty  years 
of  age  should  form  themselves  into  military  companies, 
and  "be  in  readiness  to  act  on  any  emergency,"  —  with 
a  sort  of  grim  humor,  prefacing  their  recommendation 
by  this  exquisite  morsel  of  argumentative  irony:  "Re 
solved  unanimously,  that  a  well  regulated  militia,  com 
posed  of  the  gentlemen  freeholders  and  other  freemen, 
is  the  natural  strength  and  only  stable  security  of  a 
free  government ;  and  that  such  militia  will  relieve  our 
mother  country  from  any  expense  in  our  protection  and 
defence,  will  obviate  the  pretence  of  a  necessity  for 
taxing  us  on  that  account,  and  render  it  unnecessary  to 
keep  any  standing  army  —  ever  dangerous  to  liberty  — 
1  4  An.  Arch.,  i.  858-  *  Ibid.  i.  963.  «  Hildreth,  iii.  52. 


"AFTER  ALL,    WE  MUST  FIGHT."  117 

in  this  province."  1  The  shrewdness  of  this  courteous 
political  thrust  on  the  part  of  the  convention  of  Mary 
land  seems  to  have  been  so  heartily  relished  by  others 
that  it  was  thenceforward  used  again  and  again  by 
similar  conventions  elsewhere  ;  and  in  fact,  for  the  next 
few  months,  these  sentences  became  almost  the  stereo 
typed  formula  by  which  revolutionary  assemblages  justi 
fied  the  arming  and  drilling  of  the  militia,  —  as,  for  ex 
ample,  that  of  Newcastle  County,  Delaware,2  on  the 
21st  of  December  ;  that  of  Fairfax  County,  Virginia,3 
on  the  17th  of  January,  1775  ;  .and  that  of  Augusta 
County,  Virginia,4  on  the  22d  of  February. 

In  the  mean  time  Lord  Dunmore  was  not  blind  to  all 
these  military  preparations  in  Virginia ;  and  so  early  as 
the  24th  of  December,  1774,  he  had  written  to  the 
Earl  of  Dartmouth :  "  Every  county,  besides,  is  now 
arming  a  company  of  men,  whom  they  call  an  in 
dependent  company,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  pro 
tecting  their  committees,  and  to  be  employed  against 
government,  if  occasion  require." 5  Moreover,  this 
alarming  fact  of  military  preparation,  which  Lord  Duri- 
more  had  thus  reported  concerning  Virginia,  could  have 
been  reported  with  equal  truth  concerning  nearly  every 
other  colony.  In  the  early  part  of  January,  1775,  the 
assembly  of  Connecticut  gave  order  that  the  entire 
militia  of  that  colony  should  be  mustered  every  week.6 
In  the  latter  part  of  January,  the  provincial  conven 
tion  of  Pennsylvania,  though  representing  a  colony  of 
Quakers,  boldly  proclaimed  that,  if  the  administration 
"  should  determine  by  force  to  effect  a  submission  to  the 

i  4  Am.  Arch.,  i.  1032.  2  ibid.  i.  1022. 

3  Ibid.  i.  1145.  4  ibid.  i.  1254. 

6  Ibid.  i.  1062.  6  ibid,  i.  1139. 


118  PATRICK  HENRY. 

late  arbitrary  acts  of  the  British  parliament,"  it  would 
"  resist  such  force,  aud  at  every  hazard  .  .  .  defend 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  America."  1  On  the  15th  of 
February,  the  provincial  congress  of  Massachu setts 
urged  the  people  to  "  spare  neither  lime,  pains,  nor  ex 
pense,  at  so  critical  a  juncture,  in  perfecting  themselves 
forthwith  in  military  discipline."  2 

When,  therefore,  so  late  as  Monday,  the  20th-  of 
March,  1775,  the  second  revolutionary  convention  of 
Virginia  assembled  at  Richmond,  its  members  were 
well  aware  that  one  •  of  the  chief  measures  to  come 
before  them  for  consideration  must  be  that  of  recog 
nizing  the  local  military  preparations  among  their  own 
constituents,  and  of  placing  them  all  under  some  com 
mon  organization  and  control.  Accordingly,  on  Thurs 
day,  the  23d  of  March,  after  three  days  had  been 
given  to  necessary  preliminary  subjects,  the  inevitable 
subject  of  military  preparations  was  reached.  Then  it 
was  that  Patrick  Henry  took  the  floor  and  moved  the 
adoption  of  the  following  resolutions,  supporting  his 
motion,  undoubtedly,  with  a  speech  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  a  well-regulated  militia,  composed  of 
gentlemen  and  yeomen,  is  the  natural  strength  and  only 
security  of  a  free  government ;  that  such  a  militia  in 
this  colony  would  forever  render  it  unnecessary  for  the 
mother  country  to  keep  among  us,  lor  the  purpose  of 
our  defence,  any  standing  army  of  mercenary  forces, 
always  subversive  of  the  quiet  and  dangerous  to  the 
liberties  of  the  people,  and  would  obviate  the  pretext 
of  taxing  us  for  their  support. 

"Resolved,  That  the  establishment  of  such  a  militia 
is  at  this  time  peculiarly  necessary,  by  the  state  of  our 
1  4  Am.  Arch.,  i.  1171.  2  Ibid.  i.  1340. 


"AFTER  ALL,    WE  MUST  FIGHT"  119 

laws  for  the  protection  and  defence  of  the  country,  some 
of  which  have  already  expired,  and  others  will  shortly 
do  so  ;  and  that  the  known  remissness  of  government  in 
calling  us  together  in  a  legislative  capacity,  renders  it 
too  insecure,  in  this  time  of  danger  and  distress,  to  rely 
that  opportunity  will  be  given  of  renewing  them  in 
general  assembly,  or  making  any  provision  to  secure 
our  inestimable  rights  and  liberties  from  those  further 
violations  with  which  they  are  threatened. 

"  Resolved,  therefore,  That  this  colony  be  immediately 
put  into  a  posture  of  defence;  and  that  ...  be  a  com 
mittee  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  embodying,  arming,  and 
disciplining  such  a  number  of  men  as  may  be  sufficient 
for  that  purpose."  x 

No  one  who  reads  these  resolutions  in  the  light  of  the 
facts  just  given,  can  find  in  them  anything  by  which  to 
account  for  the  opposition  which  they  are  known  to  have 
met  with  in  that  assemblage.  For  that  assemblage,  it 
must  be  remembered,  was  not  the  Virginia  legislature : 
it  was  a  mere  convention,  and  a  revolutionary  conven 
tion  at  that,  gathered  in  spite  of  the  objections  of  Lord 
Dunmore,  representing  simply  the  deliberate  purpose 
of  those  Virginians  who  meant  not  finally  to  submit  to 
unjust  laws ;  some  of  its  members,  likewise,  being  un 
der  express  instructions  from  their  constituents  to  take 
measures  for  the  immediate  and  adequate  military  or 
ganization  of  the  colony.  Not  a  man,  probably,  was 
sent  to  that  convention,  not  a  man  surely  would  have 
gone  to  it,  who  was  not  in  substantial  sympathy  with 
the  prevailing  revolutionary  spirit. 

Of  course,  even  they  who  were  in  sympathy  with 
that  spirit  might  have  objected  to  Patrick  Henry's 
1  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  167.  168. 


120  PATRICK  HENRY. 

resolutions,  bad  those  resolutions  been  marked  by  any 
startling  novelty  in  doctrine,  or  by  anything  extreme  or 
violent  in  expression.  But,  plainly,  they  were  neither 
extreme  nor  violent ;  they  were  not  even  novel.  They 
contained  nothing  essential  which  had  not  been  ap 
proved,  in  almost  the  same  words,  more  than  three 
months  before,  by  similar  conventions  in  Maryland 
and  in  Delaware ;  which  had  not  been  approved,  in  al 
most  the  same  words,  many  weeks  before,  by  county 
conventions  in  Virginia,  —  in  one  instance,  by  a  county 
convention  presided  over  by  Washington  himself; 
which  had  not  been  approved,  in  other  language,  either 
weeks  or  months  before,  by  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Isl 
and,  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  and  other  colonies ; 
which  was  not  sanctioned  by  the  plainest  prudence  on 
the  part  of  all  persons  who  intended  to  make  any  fur 
ther  stand  whatsoever  against  the  encroachments  of 
parliament.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  man  who  had 
within  him  enough  of  the  revolutionary  spirit  to  have 
prompted  his  attendance  at  a  revolutionary  convention, 
could  have  objected  to  any  essential  item  in  Patrick 
Henry's  resolutions. 

Why,  then,  were  they  objected  to  ?  Why  was  their 
immediate  passage  resisted  ?  The  official  journal  of 
the  convention  throws  no  light  upon  the  question :  it 
records  merely  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions,  and  is 
entirely  silent  respecting  any  discussion  that  they  may 
have  provoked.  Thirty  years  afterward,  however,  St. 
George  Tucker,  who,  though  not  a  member  of  this  coi> 
vention,  had  yet  as  a  visitor  watched  its  proceedings 
that  day,  gave  from  memory  some  account  of  them ; 
and  to  him  we  are  indebted  for  the  names  of  the  prin 
cipal  men  who  stood  out  against  Patrick  Henry's  mo- 


"AFTER  ALL,    WE  MUST  FIGHT."  121 

tion.  "  This  produced,"  he  says,  "  an  animated  debate, 
in  which  Colonel  Richard  Bland,  Mr.  Nicholas,  the 
treasurer,  and  I  think  Colonel  Harrison,  of  Berkeley, 
and  Mr.  Pendleton,  were  opposed  to  the  resolution, 
as  conceiving  it  to  be  premature ; " *  all  these  men 
being  prudent  politicians,  indeed,  but  all  fully  com 
mitted  to  the  cause  of  the  revolution. 

At  first,  this  testimony  may  seem  to  leave  us  as  much 
in  the  dark  as  before  ;  and  yet  all  who  are  familiar 
with  the  politics  of  Virginia  at  that  period  will  see  in 
this  cluster  of  names  some  clew  to  the  secret  of  their 
opposition.  It  was  an  opposition  to  Patrick  Henry 
himself,  and  as  far  as  possible  to  any  measure  of  which 
he  should  be  the  leading  champion.  Yet  even  this  is 
not  enough.  Whatever  may  have  been  their  private 
motives  in  resisting  a  measure  advocated  by  Patrick 
Henry,  they  must  still  have  had  some  reason  which 
they  would  be  willing  to  assign.  St.  George  Tucker 
tells  us  that  they  conceived  his  resolutions  to  be  "  pre 
mature."  But  in  themselves  his  resolutions,  so  far 
from  being  premature,  were  rather  tardy  ;  they  lagged 
weeks  arid  even  months  behind  many  of  the  best  coun 
ties  in  Virginia  itself,  as  well  as  behind  those  other 
colonies  to  which  in  political  feeling  Virginia  was  al 
ways  most  nearly  akin. 

The  only  possible  explanation  of  the  case  seems  to 
be  found,  not  in  the  resolutions  themselves,  but  in  the 
special  interpretation  put  upon  them  by  Patrick  Henry 
in  the  speech  which,  according  to  parliamentary  usage, 
he  seems  to  have  made  in  moving  their  adoption.  What 
was  that  interpretation  ?  In  the  true  answer  to  that 
question,  no  doubt,  lies  the  secret  of  the  resistance  which 
i  MS. 


^ 


122  PATRICK  HENRY. 

his  motion  encountered.  For,  down  to  that  day,  no 
public  body  in  America,  and  no  public  man,  had  openly 
spoken  of  a  war  with  Great  Britain  in  any  more  de 
cisive  way  than  as  a  thing  highly  probable,  indeed,  but 
still  not  inevitable.  At  last  Patrick  Henry  spoke  of 
it,  and  he  wanted  to  induce  the  convention  of  Virginia 
to  speak  of  it,  as  a  thing  inevitable.  Others  had  said, 
4t  The  war  must  come,  and  will  come,  —  unless  certain 
things  are  done."  Patrick  Henry,  brushing  away  every 
prefix  or  suffix  of  uncertainty,  every  half-despairing  "  if," 
every  fragile  and  pathetic  "  unless,"  exclaimed,  in  the 
hearing  of  all  men  :  *«  Why  talk  of  things  being  now 
done  which  can  avert  the  war  ?  Such  things  will  not  be 
done.  The  war  is  coming  :  it  has  come  already."  Ac 
cordingly,  other  conventions  in  the  colonies,  in  adopting 
similar  resolutions,  had  merely  announced  the  probabil 
ity  of  war.  Patrick  Henry  would  have  this  conven 
tion,  by  adopting  his  resolutions,  virtually  declare  war 
itself. 

In  this  alone,  it  is  apparent,  consisted  the  real  pri 
ority  and  offensiveness  of  Patrick  Henry's  position  as 
a  revolutionary  statesman  on  the  23d  of  March,  1775. 
In  this  alone  were  his  resolutions  "  premature."  The 
very  men  who  opposed  them  because  they  were  to  be 
understood  as  closing  the  door  against  the  possibility 
of  peace,  would  have  favored  them  had  they  only  left 
that  door  open,  or  even  ajar.  But  Patrick  Henry  de 
manded  of  the  people  of  Virginia  that  they  should  treat 
all  further  talk  of  peace  as  mere  prattle;  that  they 
should  seize  the  actual  situation  by  a  bold  grasp  of  it 
iii  front ;  that,  looking  upon  the  war  as  a  fact,  they 
should  instantly  proceed  to  get  ready  for  it.  And 
therein,  once  more,  in  revolutionary  ideas,  was  Patrick 


"AFTER  ALL,    WE  MUST  FIGHT."  123 

Henry  one  full  step  in  advance  of  his  contemporaries. 
Therein,  once  more,  did  he  justify  the  reluctant  praise 
of  Jefferson,  who  was  a  member  of  that  convention,  and 
who,  nearly  fifty  years  afterward,  said  concerning  Pat 
rick  Henry  to  a  great  statesman  from  Massachusetts: 
"  After  all,  it  must  be  allowed  that  he  was  our  leader  in 
the  measures  of  the  revolution  in  Virginia,  and  in  that 
respect  more  is  due  to  him  than  to  any  other  per 
son.  ...  He  left  all  of  us  far  behind."  1 

Such,  at  any  rate,  we  have  a  right  to  suppose,  was 
the  substantial  issue  presented  by  the  resolutions  of 
Patrick  Henry,  and  by  his  introductory  speech  in  sup 
port  of  them  ;  and  upon  this  issue  the  little  group  of  pol 
iticians —  able  and  patriotic  men,  who  always  opposed 
his  leadership  —  then  arrayed  themselves  against  him, 
making  the  most,  doubtless,  of  everything  favoring  the 
possibility  and  the  desirableness  of  a  peaceful  adjust 
ment  of  the  great  dispute.  But  their  opposition  to  him 
only  produced  the  usual  result,  —  of  arousing  him  to  an 
effort  which  simply  overpowered  and  scattered  all  fur 
ther  resistance.  It  was  in  review  of  their  whole  quiver 
ing  platoon  of  hopes  and  fears,  of  doubts,  cautions,  and 
delays,  that  he  then  made  the  speech  which  seems  to 
have  wrought  astonishing  effects  upon  those  who  heard 
it,  and  which,  though  preserved  in  a  most  inadequate 
report,  now  fills  so  great  a  space  in  the  traditions  of 
revolutionary  eloquence  :  — 

"  No  man,  Mr.  President,  thinks  more  highly  than  I 
do  of  the  patriotism,  as  well  as  the  abilities,  of  the  very 
honorable  gentlemen  who  have  just  addressed  the 
house.  But  different  men  often  see  the  same  subject 
in  different  lights  ;  and,  therefore,  I  hope  it  will  not  be 
1  Curtis,  Life  of  Webster,  i.  585. 


124  PATRICK  HENRY. 

thought  disrespectful  to  those  gentlemen  if,  entertain 
ing,  as  I  do,  opinions  of  a  character  very  opposite  to 
theirs,  I  should  speak  forth  my  sentiments  freely,  and 
without  reserve.  This  is  no  time  for  ceremony.  The 
question  before  the  house  is  one  of  awful  moment  to 
this  country.  For  my  own  part,  I  consider  it  as  noth 
ing  less  than  a  question  of  freedom  or  slavery.  And 
in  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the  subject  ought  to 
be  the  freedom  of  the  debate.  It  is  only  in  this  way 
that  we  can  hope  to  arrive  at  truth,  and  fulfil  the  great 
responsibility  which  we  hold  to  God  and  our  country. 
Should  I  keep  back  my  opinions  at  such  a  time,  through 
fear  of  giving  offence,  1  should  consider  myself  as  guilty 
of  treason  towards  my  country,  and  of  an  act  of  dis 
loyalty  towards  the  majesty  of  Heaven,  which  I  revere 
above  all  earthly  kings. 

"  Mr.  President,  it  is  natural  to  man  to  indulge  in  the 
illusions  of  Hope.  We  are  apt  to  shut  our  eyes  against 
a  painful  truth,  and  listen  to  the  song  of  that  siren 
till  she  transforms  us  into  beasts.  Is  this  the  part  of 
wise  men,  engaged  in  a  great  and  arduous  struggle  for 
liberty  ?  Are  we  disposed  to  be  of  the  number  of  those 
who,  having  eyes,  see  not,  and  having  ears,  hear  not, 
the  things  which  so  nearly  concern  their  temporal  salva 
tion  ?  For  my  part,  whatever  anguish  of  spirit  it  may 
cost,  I  am  willing  to  know  the  whole  truth ;  to  know 
the  worst,  and  to  provide  for  it. 

"  I  have  but  one  lamp  by  which  my  feet  are  guided, 
and  that  is  the  lamp  of  experience.  I  know  of  no  way 
of  judging  of  the  future  but  by  the  past.  And,  judging 
by  the  past,  I  wish  to  know  what  there  has  been  in  the 
conduct  of  the  British  ministry,  for  the  last  ten  years, 
to  justify  those  hopes  with  which  gentlemen  have  been 


"AFTER   ALL,    WE   MUST  FIGHT."  125 

pleased  to  solace  themselves  and  the  house.  Is  it  that 
insidious  smile  with  which  our  petition  has  been  lately 
received  ?  Trust  it  not,  sir  ;  it  will  prove  a  snare  to 
your  feet.  Suffer  not  yourselves  to  be  betrayed  with  a 
kiss.  Ask  yourselves  how  this  gracious  reception  of 
our  petition  comports  with  those  warlike  preparations 
which  cover  our  waters  and  darken  our  land.  Are 
fleets  and  armies  necessary  to  a  work  of  love  and  rec 
onciliation  ?  Have  we  shown  ourselves  so  unwilling  to 
be  reconciled,  that  force  must  be  called  in  to  win  back 
our  love  ?  Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves,  sir.  These 
are  the  implements  of  war  and  subjugation,  —  the  last 
arguments  to  which  kings  resort. 

"  I  ask  gentlemen,  sir,  what  means  this  martial  array, 
if  its  purpose  be  not  to  force  us  to  submission  ?  Can 
gentlemen  assign  any  other  possible  motive  for  it  ?  Has 
Great  Britain  any  enemy  in  this  quarter  of  the  world, 
to  call  for  all  this  accumulation  of  navies  and  armies  ? 
No,  sir,  she  has  none.  They  are  meant  for  us  :  they 
can  be  meant  for  no  other.  They  are  sent  over  to  bind 
and  rivet  upon  us  those  chains  which  the  British  min 
istry  have  been  so  long  forging. 

"  And  what  have  we  to  oppose  to  them  ?  Shall  we 
try  argument?  Sir,  we  have  been  trying  that  for  the 
last  ten  years.  Have  we  anything  new  to  offer  upon 
the  subject?  Nothing.  We  have  held  the  subject  up 
in  every  light  of  which  it  is  capable ;  but  it  has  been  all 
in  vain.  Shall  we  resort  to  entreaty,  and  humble  sup 
plication  ?  What  terms  shall  we  find  which  have  not 
been  already  exhausted  ? 

"  Let  us  not,  I  beseech  you,  sir,  deceive  ourselves 
longer.  Sir,  we  have  done  everything  that  could 
be  done  to  avert  the  storm  which  is  now  corning  on. 


12t3  PATRICK  IJENRY. 

We  have  petitioned  ;  we  have  remonstrated  ;  we  have 
supplicated  ;  we  have  prostrated  ourselves  before  the 
throne,  and  have  implored  its  interposition  to  arrest  the 
tyrannical  hands  of  the  ministry  and  parliament.  Our 
petitions  have  been  slighted ;  our  remonstrances  have 
produced  additional  violence  and  insult ;  our  supplica 
tions  have  been  disregarded  ;  and  we  have  been  spurned 
with  contempt  from  the  foot  of  the  throne. 

"  In  vain,  after  these  things,  may  we  indulge  the 
fond  hope  of  peace  and  reconciliation.  There  is  no 
longer  any  room  for  hope.  If  we  wish  to  be  free;  if 
we  mean  to  preserve  inviolate  those  inestimable  privi 
leges  for  which  we  have  been  so  long  contending ;  if 
we  mean  not  basely  to  abandon  the  noble  struggle  in 
which  we  have  been  so  long  engaged,  and  which  we 
have  pledged  ourselves  never  to  abandon  until  the  glo 
rious  object  of  our  contest  shall  be  obtained,  —  we  must 
fight !  I  repeat  it,  sit-,  —  we  must  fight !  An  appeal  to 
arms,  and  to  the  God  of  hosts,  is  all  that  is  left  us." 

Up  to  this  point  in  his  address,  the  orator  seems  to 
have  spoken  with  great  deliberation  and  self-restraint. 
St.  George  Tucker,  who  was  present,  and  who  has  left 
a  written  statement  of  his  recollections  both  of  the 
speech  and  of  the  scene,  says:  "It  was  on  that  occasion 
that  I  first  felt  a  full  impression  of  Mr.  Henry's  powers. 
In  vain  should  I  attempt  to  give  any  idea  of  his  speech. 
He  was  calm  and  collected  ;  touched  upon  the  origin  and 
progress  of  the  dispute  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
colonies,  the  various  conciliatory  measures  adopted  by 
the  latter,  and  the  uniformly  increasing  tone  of  violence 
and  arrogance  on  the  part  of  the  former."  Then  fol 
lows,  in  Tucker's  narrative,  the  passage  included  in  the 
last  two  paragraphs  of  the  speech  as  given  above,  after 


"AFTER   ALL,    WE  MUST  FIGHT."  127 

which  he  adds  :  "  Imagine  to  yourself  this  speech  de 
livered  with  all  the  calm  dignity  of  Cato  of  Utica ;  im 
agine  to  yourself  the  Roman  senate  assembled  in  the 
capitol  when  it  was  entered  by  the  profane  Gauls, 
who  at  first  were  awed  by  their  presence  as  if  they 
had  entered  an  assembly  of  the  gods  ;  imagine  that  you 
heard  that  Cato  addressing  such  a  senate  ;  imagine  that 
you  saw  the  handwriting  on  the  wall  of  Belshazzar's 
palace ;  imagine  you  heard  a  voice  as  from  heaven  ut 
tering  the  words, '  We  must  fight ! '  as  the  doom  of  fate, 
—  and  you  may  have  some  idea  of  the  speaker,  the  as 
sembly  to  whom  he  addressed  himself,  and  the  auditory 
of  which  I  was  one."  ] 

But,  by  a  comparison  of  this  testimony  of  St.  George 
Tucker  with  that  of  others  who  heard  the  speech,  it  is 
made  evident  that,  as  the  orator  then  advanced  toward 
the  conclusion  and  real  climax  of  his  argument,  he  no 
longer  maintained  "  the  calm  dignity  of  Cato  of  Utica," 
but  that  his  manner  gradually  deepened  into  an  inten 
sity  of  passion  and  a  dramatic  power  which  were  over 
whelming.  He  thus  continued  :  — 

They  tell  us,  sir,  that  we  are  weak,  —  unable  to 
cope  with  so  formidable  an  adversary.  But  when  shall 
we  be  stronger  ?  Will  it  be  the  next  week,  or  the  next1 
year  ?  Will  it  be  when  we  are  totally  disarmed,  and 
when  a  British  guard  shall  be  stationed  in  every  house  ? 
Shall  we  gather  strength  by  irresolution  and  inaction  ? 
Shall  we  acquire  the  means  of  effectual  resistance  by 
lying  supinely  on  our  backs,  and  hugging  the  delusive 
phantom  of  Hope,  until  our  enemies  shall  have  bound 
us  hand  and  foot? 

"  Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make  a  proper  use  of 
i  MS. 


128  PATRICK  HENRY. 

those  means  which  the  God  of  nature  hath  placed  in 
our  power.  Three  millions  of  people  armed  in  the  holy 
cause  of  liberty,  and  in  such  a  country  as  that  which 
we  possess,  are  invincible  by  any  force  which  our  enemy 
can  send  against  us. 

"  Besides,  sir,  we  shall  not  fight  our  battles  alone. 
There  is  a  just  God  who  presides  over  the  destinies  of 
nations,  and  who  will  raise  up  friends  to  fight  our  bat 
tles  for  us.  The  battle,  sir,  is  not  to  the  strong  alone  : 
it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the  active,  the  brave.  Besides,  sir, 
we  have  no  ^election.  If  we  were  base  enough  to  desire 
it,  it  is  now  too  late  to  retire  from  the  contest  There  is 
no  retreat  but  in  submission  and  slavery.  Our  chains 
are  forged.  Their  clanking  may  be  heard  on  the  plains 
of  Boston.  The  war  is  inevitable.  And  let  it  come  ! 
I  repeat  it,  sir,  let  it  come  ! 

"  It  is  in  vain,  sir,  to  extenuate  the  matter.  Gen 
tlemen  may  cry  peace,  peace,  but  there  is  no  peace. 
The  war  is  actually  begun.  The  next  gale  that  sweeps 
from  the  north  will  bring  to  our  ears  the  clash  of  re 
sounding  arms.  Our  brethren  are  already  in  the  field. 
Why  stand  we  here  idle  ?  What  is  it  that  gentlemen 
wish  ?  What  would  they  have  ?  Is  life  so  dear,  or 
>peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the  price  of  chains 
and  slavery  ?  Forbid  it,  Almighty  God  !  I  know  not 
what  course  others  may  take,  but  as  for  me,  give  me 
liberty,  or  give  me  death !  " 

Of  this  tremendous  speech  there  are  in  existence  two 
traditional  descriptions,  neither  of  which  is  inconsistent 
with  the  testimony  given  by  St.  George  Tucker.  He, 
as  a  lawyer  and  a  judge,  seems  to  have  retained  the 
impression  of  that  portion  of  the  speech  which  was 
the  more  argumentative  and  unimpassioned :  the  two 


"AFTER   ALL,    WE  MUST  FIGHT."  129 

other  reporters  seem  to  have  remembered  especially 
its  later  and  more  emotional  passages.  Our  first  tra 
ditional  description  was  obtained  by  Henry  Stephens 
Randall  from  a  clergyman,  who  had  it  from  an  aged 
friend,  also  a  clergyman,  who  heard  the  speech  itself  : 
"  Henry  rose  with  an  unearthly  fire  burning  in  his  eye. 
He  commenced  somewhat  calmly,  but  the  smothered  ex 
citement  began  more  and  more  to  play  upon  his  features 
and  thrill  in  the  tones  of  his  voice.  The  tendons  of  his 
neck  stood  out  white  and  rigid  like  whipcords.  His 
voice  rose  louder  and  louder,  until  the  walls  of  the  build 
ing,  and  all  within  them,  seemed  to  shake  and  rock  in 
its  tremendous  vibrations.  Finally,  his  pale  face  and 
glaring  eye  became  terrible  to  look  upon.  Men  leaned 
forward  in  their  seats,  with  their  heads  strained  for 
ward,  their  faces  pale,  and  their  eyes  glaring  like  the 
speaker's.  His  last  exclamation,  '  Give  me  liberty,  or 
give  me  death  !  '  was  like  the  shout  of  the  leader  which 
turns  back  the  rout  of  battle."  The  old  man  from 
whom  this  tradition  was  derived  added  that,  when  the 
orator  sat  down,  he  himself  "  felt  sick  with  excitement. 
Every  eye  yet  gazed  entranced  on  Henry.  It  seemed 
as  if  a  word  from  him  would  have  led  to  any  wild  ex 
plosion  of  violence.  Men  looked  beside  themselves."  1 

The  second  traditional  description  of  the  speech  is 
obtained  from  a  manuscript2  of  Edward  Fontaine,  who 
obtained  it  in  1834  from  John  Roane,  who  himself  heard 
the  speech.  Roane  told  Fontaine  that  the  orator's 
"voice,  countenance,  and  gestures  gave  an  irresistible 
force  to  his  words,  which  no  description  could  make  intel 
ligible  to  one  who  had  never  seen  him,  nor  heard  him 

1  Randall,  Life  of  Jefferson,  i.  101,  102. 

2  Now  in  the  library  of  Cornell  University. 


130  PATRICK  HENRY. 

speak  ;  "  but,  in  order  to  convey  some  notion  of  the  ora 
tor's  manner,  Roane  described  the  delivery  of  the  closing 
sentences  of  the  speech  :  "  You  remember,  sir,  the  con 
clusion  of  the  speech,  so  often  declaimed  in  various  ways 
by  school-boys,  — '  Is  life  so  dear,  or  peace  so  sweet,  as 
to  be  purchased  at  the  price  of  chains  and  slavery  ? 
Forbid  it,  Almighty  God !  I  know  not  what  course 
others  may  take,  but  as  for  me,  give  me  liberty,  or  give 
me  death ! '  He  gave  each  of  these  words  a  meaning 
which  is  not  conveyed  by  the  reading  or  delivery  of 
them  in  the  ordinary  way.  When  he  said,  '  Is  life  so 
dear,  or  peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the  price 
of  chains  and  slavery?'  he  stood  in  the  attitude  of  a 
condemned  galley  slave,  loaded  with  fetters,  awaiting 
his  doom.  His  form  was  bowed ;  his  wrists  were 
crossed  ;  his  manacles  were  almost  visible  as  he  stood 
like  an  embodiment  of  helplessness  and  agony.  After 
a  solemn  pause,  he  raised  his  eyes  and  chained  hands 
towards  heaven,  and  prayed,  in  words  and  tones  which 
thrilled  every  heart,  *  Forbid  it,  Almighty  God  !  ' 
He  then  turned  towards  the  timid  loyalists  of  the 
house,  who  were  quaking  with  terror  at  the  idea  of 
the  consequences  of  participating  in  proceedings  which 
would  be  visited  with  the  penalties  of  treason  by  the 
British  crown  ;  and  he  slowly  bent  his  form  yet  nearer 
to  the  earth,  and  said,  '  I  know  not  what  course  others 
may  take,'  and  he  accompanied  the  words  with  his 
hands  still  crossed,  while  he  seemed  to  be  weighed  down 
with  additional  chains.  The  man  appeared  transformed 
into  an  oppressed,  heart-broken,  and  hopeless  felon. 
After  remaining  in  this  posture  of  humiliation  long 
enough  to  impress  the  imagination  with  the  condition 
of  the  colony  under  the  iron  heel  of  military  despotism, 


"AFTER  ALL,    WE  MUST  FIGHT."  131 

he  arose  proudly,  and  exclaimed,  'but  as  for  me,'  — 
and  the  words  hissed  through  his  clenched  teeth,  while 
his  body  was  thrown  back,  and  every  muscle  and  tendon 
was  strained  against  the  fetters  which  bound  him,  and, 
with  his  countenance  distorted  by  agony  and  rage,  he 
looked  for  a  moment  like  Laocoon  in  a  death  struggle 
with  coiling  serpents  ;  then  the  loud,  clear,  triumphant 
notes,  'give  me  liberty,'  electrified  the  assembly.  It 
was  not  a  prayer,  but  a  stern  demand,  which  would  sub 
mit  to  no  refusal  or  delay.  The  sound  of  his  voice, 
as  he  spoke  these  memorable  words,  was  like  that  of 
a  Spartan  paean  on  the  field  of  Platrea ;  and,  as  each 
syllable  of  the  word  '  liberty  '  echoed  through  the  build 
ing,  his  fetters  were  shivered  ;  his  arms  were  hurled 
apart ;  and  the  links  of  his  chains  were  scattered  to  the 
winds.  When  he  spoke  the  word  '  liberty '  with  an  em 
phasis  never  given  it  before,  his  hands  were  open,  and 
his  arms  elevated  and  extended  ;  his  countenance  was 
radiant ;  he  stood  erect  and  defiant ;  while  the  sound  of 
his  voice  and  the  sublimity  of  his  attitude  made  him 
appear  a  magnificent  incarnation  of  Freedom,  and  ex 
pressed  all  that  can  be  acquired  or  enjoyed  by  nations 
and  individuals  invincible  and  free.  After  a  momen 
tary  pause,  only  long  enough  to  permit  the  echo  of  the 
word  '  liberty '  to  cease,  he  let  his  left  hand  fall  pow 
erless  to  his  side,  and  clenched  his  right  hand  firmly, 
as  if  holding  a  dagger  with  the  point  aimed  at  his 
breast.  He  stood  like  a  Roman  senator  defying  Ca3sar, 
while  the  unconquerable  spirit  of  Cato  of  Utica  flashed 
from  every  feature  ;  and  he  closed  the  grand  appeal 
with  the  solemn  words,  '  or  give  me  death ! '  which 
sounded  with  the  awful  cadence  of  a  hero's  dirge,  fear 
less  of  death,  and  victorious  in  death-,  and  he  suited  the 


132  PATRICK  HENRY. 

action  to  the  word  by  a  blow  upon  the  left  breast  with 
the  right  hand,  which  seemed  to  drive  the  dagger  to 
the  patriot's  heart."  * 

Before  passing  from  this  celebrated  speech,  it  is 
proper  to  say  something  respecting  the  authenticity  of 
the  version  of  it  which  has  come  down  to  us,  and  which 
is  now  so  universally  known  in  America.  The  speech 
is  given  in  these  pages  substantially  as  it  was  given  by 
Wirt  in  his  "  Life  of  Henry."  Wirt  himself  does  not 
mention  whence  he  obtained  his  version  ;  and  all  efforts 
to  discover  that  version  as  a  whole,  in  any  writing 
prior  to  Wirt's  book,  have  thus  far  been  unsuccessful. 
These  facts  have  led  even  so  genial  a  critic  as  Grigsby 
to  incline  to  the  opinion  that  "  much  of  the  speech 
published  by  Wirt  is  apocryphal."  2  It  would,  indeed, 
be  an  odd  thing,  and  a  source  of  no  little  disturbance  to 
many  minds,  if  such  should  turn  out  to  be  the  case,  and 
if  we  should  have  to  conclude  that  an  apocryphal 
speech  written  by  Wirt,  and  attributed  by  him  to 
Patrick  Henry  fifteen  years  after  the  great  orator's 
death,  had  done  more  to  perpetuate  the  renown  of 
Patrick  Henry's  oratory  than  had  been  done  by  any 
and  all  the  words  actually  spoken  by  the  orator  him 
self  during  his  lifetime.  On  the  other  hand,  it  should 
be  said  that  Grigsby  himself  admits  that  "  the  outline 
of  the  argument  "  and  "  some  of  its  expressions  "  are 
undoubtedly  "  authentic."  That  this  is  so  is  apparent, 
likewise,  from  the  written  recollections  of  St.  George 
Tucker,  wherein  the  substance  of  the  speech  is  given, 
besides  one  entire  passage  in  almost  the  exact  language 
of  the  version  by  Wirt.  Finally,  John  Roane,  in  1834, 
in  his  conversation  with  Edward  Fontaine,  is  said  to 
1  MS.  2  Va.  Conv.  of  1776,  150,  note. 


"AFTER  ALL,    WE  MUST  FIGHT:1  133 

have  "  verified  the  correctness  of  the  speech  as  it  was 
written  by  Judge  Tyler  for  Mr.  Wirt."  1  This,  unfor 
tunately,  is  the  only  intimation  that  has  anywhere  been 
found  attributing  Wirt's  version  to  the  excellent  au 
thority  of  Judge  John  Tyler.  If  the  statement  could 
be  confirmed,  it  would  dispel  every  difficulty  at  once. 
But,  even  though  the  statement  should  be  set  aside, 
enough  would  still  remain  to  justify  us  in  thinking  that 
Wirt's  version  of  the  famous  speech  by  no  means  de 
serves  to  be  called  "  apocryphal,"  in  any  such  sense  as 
that  word  has  when  applied,  for  example,  to  the  speeches 
in  Livy  and  in  Thucydides,  or  in  Botta.  In  the  first 
place,  Wirt's  version  certainly  gives  the  substance  of 
the  speech  as  actually  made  by  Patrick  Henry  on  the 
occasion  named;  and,  for  the  form  of  it,  Wirt  seems  to 
have  gathered  testimony  from  all  available  living  wit 
nesses,  and  then,  from  such  sentences  or  snatches  of 
sentences  as  these  witnesses  could  remember,  as  well 
as  from  his  own  cenception  of  the  orator's  method  of 
expression,  to  have  constructed  the  version  which  he 
has  handed  down  to  us.  Even  in  that  case,  it  is  prob 
ably  far  more  accurate  and  authentic  than  are  most  of 
the  famous  speeches  attributed  to  public  characters  be 
fore  reporters'  galleries  were  opened,  and  before  the 
art  of  reporting  was  brought  to  its  present  perfection. 

Returning,  now,  from  this  long  account  of  Patrick 
Henry's  most  celebrated  speech,  to  the  assemblage  in 
which  it  was  made,  it  remains  to  be  mentioned  that  the 
resolutions,  as  offered  by  Patrick  Henry,  were  carried  ; 
and  that  the  committee,  called  for  by  those  resolutions, 
to  prepare  a  plan  for  "  embodying,  arming,  and  disciplin 
ing  "  the  militia,2  was  at  once  appointed.  Of  this  com- 

1  MS.  24  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  168. 


134  PATRICK  HENRY. 

niittee  Patrick  Henry  was  chairman  ;  and  with  him 
were  associated  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Nicholas,  Harri 
son,  Riddick,  Washington,  Stephen,  Lewis,  Christian, 
Pendleton,  Jefferson,  and  Zane.  On  the  following  day, 
Friday,  the  24th  of  March,  the  committee  brought  in 
its  report,  which  was  laid  over  for  one  day,  and  then, 
after  some  amendment,  was  unanimously  adopted. 

The  convention  did  not  close  its  labors  until  Monday, 
the  27th  of  March.  The  contemporaneous  estimate  of 
Patrick'  Henry,  not  merely  as  a  leader  in  debate,  but  as 
a  constitutional  lawyer,  and  as  a  man  of  affairs,  may  be 
partly  gathered  from  the  fact  of  his  connection  with 
each  of  the  two  other  important  committees  of  this  con 
vention, —  the  committee  "to  inquire  whether  his  maj 
esty  may  of  right  advance  the  terms  of  granting  lands  in 
this  colony," 1  on  which  his  associates  were  the  great 
lawyers,  Bland,  Jefferson,  Nicholas,  and  Pendleton ; 
and  the  committee  "  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  en 
couragement  of  arts  and  manufactures  in  this  col 
ony,"  2  on  which  his  associates  were  Nicholas,  Bland, 
Mercer,  Pendleton,  Gary,  Carter  of  Stafford,  Harrison, 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  Clapham,  Washington.  Holt,  and 
Newton. 

i  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  172.  2  fbid.  170. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   RAPE    OP   THE    GUNPOWDER. 

SEVERAL  of  the  famous  men  of  the  revolution, 
whose  distinction  is  now  exclusively  that  of  civilians, 
are  supposed  to  have  cherished  very  decided  military 
aspirations ;  to  have  been  rather  envious  of  the  more 
vivid  renown  acquired  by  some  of  their  political  asso 
ciates  who  left  the  senate  for  the  field ;  and,  indeed,  to 
have  made  occasional  efforts  to  secure  for  themselves 
the  opportunity  for  glory  in  the  same  pungent  and 
fascinating  form.  A  notable  example  of  this  class  of 
revolutionary  civilians  with  abortive  military  desires, 
is  John  Hancock.  In  June,  1775,  when  congress  had 
before  it  the  task  of  selecting  one  who  should  be  the 
military  leader  of  the  uprisen  colonists,  John  Hancock, 
seated  in  the  president's  chair,  gave  unmistakable  signs 
of  thinking  that  the  choice  ought  to  fall  upon  himself. 
While  John  Adams  was  speaking  in  general  terms  of 
the  military  situation,  involving,  of  course,  the  need  of  a 
commander-in-chief,  Hancock  heard  him  "  with  visible 
pleasure  ; "  but  when  the  orator  came  to  point  out 
Washington  as  the  man  best  fitted  for  the  leadership, 
"  a  sudden  and  striking  change  "  came  over  the  counte 
nance  of  the  president.  "Mortification  and  resentment 
were  expressed  as  forcibly  as  his  face  could  exhibit 
them  ; "  1  and  it  is  probable  that,  to  the  end  of  his  days, 
i  Works  of  John  Adams,  ii.  415-417. 


136  PATRICK  HENRY. 

he  was  never  able  entirely  to  forgive  Washington  for 
having  carried  off  the  martial  glory  that  he  had  really 
believed  to  be  within  his  own  reach.  But  even  John 
Adams,  who  so  pitilessly  unveiled  the  baffled  military 
desires  of  Hancock,  was  perhaps  not  altogether  un 
acquainted  with  similar  emotions  in  his  own  soul.  Fully 
three  weeks  prior  to  that  notable  scene  in  congress,  in 
a  letter  to  his  wife  in  which  he  was  speaking  of  the 
amazing  military  spirit  then  running  through  the  con 
tinent,  and  of  the  military  appointments  then  held  by 
several  of  his  Philadelphia  friends,  he  exclaimed  in  his 
impulsive  way,  "  Oh  that  I  were  a  soldier  !  I  will 
be."  l  And  on  the  very  day  on  which  he  joined  in 
the  escort  of  the  new  generals,  Washington,  Lee,  and 
Schuyler,  on  their  first  departure  from  Philadelphia  for 
the  American  camp,  he  sent  off  to  his  wife  a  charac 
teristic  letter  revealing  something  of  the  anguish  with 
which  he,  a  civilian,  viewed  the  possibility  of  his  being 
at  a  disadvantage  with  these  military  men  in  the  race 
for  glory  :  "  The  three  generals  were  all  mounted  on 
horseback,  accompanied  by  Major  Mifflin,  who  is  gone 
in  the  character  of  aide-de-camp.  All  the  delegates 
from  the  Massachusetts,  with  their  servants  and  car 
riages,  attended.  Many  others  of  the  delegates  from 
the  congress ;  a  large  troop  of  light  horse  in  their  uni 
forms  ;  many  officers  of  militia,  besides,  in  theirs  ;  music 
playing,  etc.,  etc.  Such  is  the  pride  and  pomp  of  war. 
I,  poor  creature,  worn  out  with  scribbling  for  my  bread 
and  my  liberty,  low  in  spirits  and  weak  in  health,  must 
leave  to  others  to  wear  the  laurels  which  I  have  sown  ; 
others  to  eat  the  bread  which  I  have  earned."  2 

l  Letters  of  John  Adams  to  his  Wife,  i.  40. 
a  Ibid.  i.  47,  48. 


THE  RAPE    OF   THE    GUNPOWDER.  137 

Of  Patrick  Henry,  however,  it  may  be  said  that  his 
permanent  fame  as  an  orator  and  a  statesman  has  al 
most  effaced  the  memory  of  the  fact  that,  in  the  first 
year  of  the  war,  he  had  considerable  prominence  as  a 
soldier;  that  it  was  then  believed  by  many,  and  very 
likely  by  himself,  that,  having  done  as  much  as  any 
man  to  bring  on  the  war,  he  was  next  to  do  as  much 
as  any  man  in  the  actual  conduct  of  it,  and  was  thus 
destined  to  add  to  a  civil  renown  of  almost  unap- 
proached  brilliance,  a  similar  renown  for  splendid  tal 
ents  in  the  field.  At  any  rate,  the  "  first  overt  act  of 
war  "  in  Virginia,  as  Jefferson  testifies,1  was  committed 
by  Patrick  Henry.  The  first  physical  resistance  to  a 
royal  governor,  which  in  Massachusetts  was  made  by 
the  embattled  farmers  at  Lexington  and  Concord,  was 
made  in  Virginia  almost  as  early,  under  the  direction 
and  inspiration  of  Patrick  Henry's  leadership.  In  the 
first  organization  of  the  revolutionary  army  in  Virginia, 
the  chief  command  was  given  to  Patrick  Henry.  Finally, 
that  he  never  had  the  opportunity  of  proving  in  battle 
whether  or  not  he  had  military  talents,  and  that,  after 
some  months  of  nominal  command,  he  was  driven  by 
a  series  of  official  slights  into  an  abandonment  of  his 
military  career,  may  have  been  occasioned  solely  by 
a  proper  distrust  of  his  military  capacity  on  the  part  of 
the  Virginia  committee  of  safety,  or  it  may  have  been 
due  in  some  measure  to  the  unslumbering  jealousy  of 
him  which  was  at  the  time  attributed  to  the  leading 
members  of  that  committee.  The  purpose  of  this  chap 
ter,  and  of  the  next,  will  be  to  present  a  rapid  grouping 
of  these  incidents  in  his  life,  —  incidents  which  now 
have  the  appearance  of  a  mere  episode,  but  which  once 
1  Works  of  Jefferson,  i.  116. 


138  PATRICK  HENRY. 

seemed  the  possible  beginnings  of  a  deliberate  and  con 
spicuous  military  career. 

Within  the  city  of  Williamsburg,  at  the  period  now 
spoken  of,  had  long  been  kept  the  public  storehouse  for 
gunpowder  and  arms.  In  the  dead  of  the  night 1  pre 
ceding  the  21st  of  April,  1775, — a  little  less  than 
a  month,  therefore,  after  the  convention  of  Virginia 
had  proclaimed  the  inevitable  approach  of  a  war  with 
Great  Britain,  —  a  detachment  of  marines  from  the 
armed  schooner  Magdalen,  then  lying  in  the  James 
River,  stealthily  visited  this  storehouse,  and,  taking 
thence  fifteen  half-barrels  of  gunpowder,2  carried  them 
off  in  Lord  Dunmore's  wagon  to  Burwell's  Ferry,  and 
put  them  on  board  their  vessel.  Of  course,  the  news  of 
this  exploit  flew  fast  through  the  colony,  and  every 
where  awoke  alarm  and  exasperation.  Soon  some  thou 
sands  of  armed  men  made  ready  to  march  to  the  capital 
to  demand  the  restoration  of  the  gunpowder.  On  Tues 
day,  the  25th  of  April,  the  independent  company  of 
Fredericksburg  notified  their  colonel,  George  Wash 
ington,  that,  with  his  approbation,  they  would  be  pre 
pared  to  start  for  Williamsburg  on  the  following  Satur 
day,  "  properly  accoutred  as  light-horsemen,"  and  in 
conjunction  with  "  any  other  bodies  of  armed  men  who  " 
might  be  "  willing  to  appear  in  support  of  the  honor  of 
Virginia."  8 

Similar  messages  were  promptly  sent  to  Washington 
from  the  independent  companies  of  Prince  William4 
and  Albemarle  6  counties.  On  Wednesday,  the  26th  of 
April,  the  men  in  arms  who  had  already  arrived  at 

l  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  1227.  2  ibid.  iii.  390. 

8  Ibid.  ii.  387.  4  Ibid.  ii.  395. 

*  Ibid.  ii.  442,  443. 


THE  RAPE   OF   THE   GUNPOWDER.  139 

Fredericksburg  sent  to  the  capital  a  swift  messenger  "  to 
inquire  whether  the  gunpowder  had  been  replaced  in 
the  public  magazine." l  On  Saturday,  the  29th,  —  being 
the  day  already  fixed  for  the  march  upon  Williamsburg, 
—  one  hundred  and  two  gentlemen,  representing  four 
teen  companies  of  light-horse,  met  in  council  at  Fred 
ericksburg,  and,  after  considering  a  letter  from  the  ven 
erable  Peyton  Randolph  which  their  messenger  had 
brought  back  with  him,  particularly  Randolph's  assur 
ance  that  the  affair  of  the  gunpowder  was  to  be  satis 
factorily  arranged,  came  to  the  resolution  that  they 
would  proceed  no  further  at  that  time  ;  adding,  however, 
this  solemn  declaration:  "  We  do  now  pledge  ourselves 
to  each  other  to  be  in  readiness,  at  a  moment's  warning, 
to  reassemble,  and  by  force  of  arms  to  defend  the  law, 
the  liberty,  and  rights  of  this  or  any  sister  colony  from 
unjust  and  wicked  invasion."  ' 

It  is  at  this  point  that  Patrick  Henry  comes  upon  the 
scene.  Thus  far,  during  the  trouble,  he  appears  to 
have  been  watching  events  from  his  home  in  Hanover 
County.  As  soon,  however,  as  word  was  brought  to  him 
of  the  tame  conclusion  thus  reached  by  the  assembled 
warriors  at  Fredericksburg,  his  soul  took  fire  at  the 
lamentable  mistake  which  he  thought  they  had  made. 
To  him  it  seemed  on  every  account  the  part  of  wisdom 
that  the  blow,  which  would  have  to  be  "  struck  sooner  or 
later,  should  be  struck  at  once,  before  an  overwhelming 
force  should  enter  the  colony  ;  "  that  the  spell  by  which 
the  people  were  held  in  a  sort  of  superstitious  awe  of 
the  governor  should  be  broken ;  "  that  the  military 
resources  of  the  country  should  be  developed  ; "  that  the 
people  should  be  made  to  "  see  and  feel  their  strength  by 
i  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  426.  2  Ibid.  ii.  443. 


140  PATRICK  HENRY. 

being  brought  out  together  ;  that  the  revolution  should 
be  set  in  actual  motion  in  the  colony  ;  that  the  martial 
prowess  of  the  country  should  he  awakened,  and  the 
soldiery  animated  by  that  proud  and  resolute  confidence 
which  a  successful  enterprise  in  the  commencement  of  a 
contest  never  fails  to  inspire."  3 

Accordingly,  he  resolved  that,  as  the  troops  lately 
rendezvoused  at  Fredericksburg  had  forborne  to  strike 
this  needful  blow,  he  would  endeavor  to  repair  the  mis 
take  by  striking  it  himself.  At  once,  therefore,  he  de 
spatched  expresses  to  the  officers  and  men  of  the  inde 
pendent  company  of  his  own  county,  "  requesting  them 
to  meet  him  in  arms  at  New  Castle  on  the  second  of 
May,  on  business  of  the  highest  importance  to  American 
liberty."  2  He  also  summoned  the  county  committee  to 
meet  him  at  the  same  time  and  place. 

At  the  place  and  time  appointed  his  neighbors  were 
duly  assembled  ;  and  when  he  had  laid  before  them,  in  a 
speech  of  wonderful  eloquence,  his  view  of  the  situation, 
they  instantly  resolved  to  put  themselves  under  his 
command,  and  to  march  at  once  to  the  capital,  either  to 
recover  the  gunpowder  itself,  or  to  make  reprisals  on 
the  king's  property  sufficient  to  replace  it.  Without 
delay  the  march  began,  Captain  Patrick  Henry  leading. 
By  sunset  of  the  following  day,  they  had  got  as  far  as 
to  Doncastle's  Ordinary,  about  sixteen  miles  from  Wil- 
liamsburg,  and  there  rested  for  the  night.  Meantime, 
the  news  that  Patrick  Henry  was  marching  with  armed 
men  straight  against  Lord  Dunmore,  to  demand  the 

1  Patrick  Henry's  reasons  were  thus  stated  by  him  at  the  time  to 
Colonel  Richard  Morris  and  Captain  George  Dabney,  and   by  the  lat 
ter  were  communicated  to  Wirt,  136,  137. 

2  Wirt,  137,  13b. 


THE  RAPE   OF   THE   GUNPOWDER.  141 

restoration  of  the  gunpowder  or  payment  for  it,  car 
ried  exhilaration  or  terror  in  all  directions.  On  the  one 
hand,  many  prudent  and  conservative  gentlemen  were 
horrified  at  his  rashness,  and  sent  messenger  after  mes 
senger  to  beg  him  to  stay  his  fearful  proceeding,  to  turn 
about,  and  to  go  home.1  On  the  other  hand,  as  the 
word  flew  from  county  to  county  that  Patrick  Henry 
had  taken  up  the  people's  cause  in  this  vigorous  fashion, 
five  thousand  men  sprang  to  arms,  and  started  across 
the  country  to  join  the  ranks  of  his  followers,  and  to 
lend  a  hand  in  case  of  need.  At  Williamsburg,  the 
rumor  of  his  approach  brought  on  a  scene  of  consterna 
tion.  The  wife  and  family  of  Lord  Dunmore  were 
hurried  away  to  a  place  of  safety.  Further  down  the 
river,  the  commander  of  his  majesty's  ship  Fowey  was 
notified  that  "  his  excellency  the  Lord  Dunmore,  gov 
ernor  of  Virginia,"  was  "  threatened  with  an  attack  at 
daybreak,  ...  at  his  palace  at  Williamsburg  ; "  and  for 
his  defence  was  speedily  sent  off  a  detachment  of 
marines.2  Before  daybreak,  however,  the  governor 
seems  to  have  come  to  the  prudent  decision  to  avert,  by 
a  timely  settlement  with  Patrick  Henry,  the  impending 
attack  ;  and  accordingly,  soon  after  daybreak,  a  mes 
senger  arrived  at  Doncastle's  Ordinary,  there  to  tender 
immediate  satisfaction  in  money  for  the  gunpowder  that 
had  been  ravished  away.3  The  troops,  having  already 
resumed  their  march,  were  halted ;  and  soon  a  settle 
ment  of  the  trouble  was  effected,  according  to  the  terms 
of  the  following  singular  document :  — 

1  Wirt,  141.  2  4  Am.  Arch.  ii.  504. 

8  Cooke,   Virginia,  432. 


142  PATRICK  HENRY. 

"DONCASTLE'S  ORDINARY,  NEW  KENT,   May  4,  1775. 

"  Received  from  the  Honorable  Richard  Corbin,  Esq., 
his  majesty's  receiver-general,  ,£330,  as  a  compensa 
tion  for  the  gunpowder  lately  taken  out  of  the  public 
magazine  by  the  governor's  order ;  which  money  I 
promise  to  convey  to  the  Virginia  delegates  at  the  gen 
eral  congress,  to  be  under  their  direction  laid  out  in  gun 
powder  for  the  colony's  use,  and  to  be  stored  as  they 
shall  direct,  until  the  next  colony  convention,  or  gen 
eral  assembly  ;  unless  it  shall  be  necessary,  in  the  mean 
time,  to  use  the  same  in  defence  of  this  colony.  It  is 
agreed,  that  iu  case  the  next  convention  shall  determine 
that  any  part  of  the  said  money  ought  to  be  returned  to 
his  majesty's  receiver-general,  that  the  same  shall  be 
done  accordingly. 

"  PATRICK  HENRY,  JUNIOR."  l 

The  chief  object  for  which  Patrick  Henry  and  his 
soldiers  had  taken  the  trouble  to  come  to  that  place 
having  been  thus  suddenly  accomplished,  there  was  but 
one  thing  left  for  them  to  do  before  they  should  return 
to  their  homes.  Robert  Carter  Nicholas,  the  treasurer 
of  the  colony,  was  at  Williamsburg  ;  and  to  him  Patrick 
Henry  at  once  despatched  a  letter  informing  him  of  the 
arrangement  that  had  been  made,  and  offering  to  him 
any  protection  that  he  might  in  consequence  require :  — 

"May  4,  1775. 

"  SIR,  —  The  affair  of  the  powder  is  now  settled,  so  as 

to  produce  satisfaction  in  me,  and  I  earnestly  wish  to 

the   colony  in  general.      The  people  here  have  it  in 

charge  from  the  Hanover  committee,  to   tender    their 

l  4  Am.  Arch.,  il  540. 


THE   RAPE    OF   THE   GUNPOWDER.  143 

services  to  you  as  a  public  officer,  for  the  purpose  of 
escorting  the  public  treasury  to  any  place  in  this  colony 
where  the  money  would  be  judged  more  safe  than  in 
the  city  of  Williamsburg.  The  reprisal  now  made  by 
the  Hanover  volunteers,  though  accomplished  in  a  man 
ner  least  liable  to  the  imputation  of  violent  extremity, 
may  possibly  be  the  cause  of  future  injury  to  the  treas 
ury.  If,  therefore,  you  apprehend  the  least  danger,  a 
sufficient  guard  is  at  your  service.  I  beg  the  return  of 
the  bearer  may  be  instant,  because  the  men  wish  to 
know  their  destination. 

"With  great  regard,  I  am,  Sir, 

"  Your  most  humble  servant, 

"  PATRICK  HENRY,  JUNIOR. 

"  To  ROBERT  CARTER  NICHOLAS,  Esq.,  Treasurer."  l 

Patrick  Henry's  desire  for  an  immediate  answer  from 
the  respectable  Mr.  Nicholas  was  gratified,  although  it 
came  in  the  form  of  a  dignified  rebuff :  Mr.  Nicholas 
"  had  no  apprehension  of  the  necessity  or  propriety  of 
the  proffered  service." 2 

No  direct  communication  seems  to  have  been  had  at 
that  time  with  Lord  Dunmore ;  but  two  days  afterward 
his  lordship,  having  given  to  Patrick  Henry  ample 
time  to  withdraw  to  a  more  agreeable  distance,  sent 
thundering  after  him  this  portentous  proclamation  :  — 

"  Whereas  I  have  been  informed  from  undoubted  au 
thority  that  a  certain  Patrick  Henry,  of  the  county  of 
Hanover,  and  a  number  of  deluded  followers,  have  taken 
up  arms,  chosen  their  officers,  and,  styling  themselves 
an  independent  company,  have  marched  out  of  their 
county,  encamped,  and  put  themselves  in  a  posture  of 
l  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  541.  2  Ibid. 


144  PATRICK  HENRY. 

war,  and  have  written  and  despatched  letters  to  divers 
parts  of  the  country,  exciting  the  people  to  join  in  these 
outrageous  and  rebellious  practices,  to  the  great  terror 
of  all  his  majesty's  faithful  subjects,  and  in  open  defi 
ance  of  law  and  government ;  and  have  committed  other 
acts  of  violence,  particularly  in  extorting  from  his 
majesty's  receiver-general  the  sum  of  three  hundred  and 
thirty  pounds,  under  pretence  of  replacing  the  powder 
I  thought  proper  to  order  from  the  magazine  ;  whence 
it  undeniably  appears  that  there  is  no  longer  the  least 
security  for  the  life  or  property  of  any  man  :  wherefore, 
I  have  thought  proper,  with  the  advice  of  his  majesty's 
council,  and  in  his  majesty's  name,  to  issue  this  my 
proclamation,  strictly  charging  all  persons,  upon  their 
allegiance,  not  to  aid,  abet,  or  give  countenance  to  the 
said  Patrick  Henry,  or  any  other  persons  concerned  in 
such  unwarrantable  combinations,  but  on  the  contrary 
to  oppose  them  and  their  designs  by  every  means ; 
which  designs  must,  otherwise,  inevitably  involve  the 
whole  country  in  the  most  direful  calamity,  as  they  will 
call  for  the  vengeance  of  offended  majesty  and  the  in 
sulted  laws  to  be  exerted  here,  to  vindicate  the  consti 
tutional  authority  of  government. 

"  Given  under  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  colony,  at 
Williamsburg,  this  6th  day  of  May,  1775,  and  in  the 
fifteenth  year  of  his  majesty's  reign. 

"  DUNMORE. 

"  God  save  the  King."  * 

Beyond  question,  there  were  in  Virginia  at  that  time 
many  excellent  gentlemen  who  still  trusted  that  the  dis 
pute  with  Great  Britain   might   be   composed   without 
1  4  Am.  Aroh.,  ii.  616. 


THE  RAPE  OF  THE   GUNPOWDER.  145 

bloodshed,  and  to  whom  Patrick  Henry's  conduct  in 
this  affair  must  have  appeared  foolhardy,  presumptu 
ous,  and  even  criminal.  The  mass  of  the  people  of 
Virginia,  however,  did  not  incline  to  take  that  view 
of  the  subject.  They  had  no  faith  any  longer  in  timid 
counsels,  in  hesitating  measures.  They  believed  that 
their  most  important  earthly  rights  were  in  danger,, 
They  longed  for  a  leader  with  vigor,  promptitude,  cour 
age,  caring  less  for  technical  propriety  than  for  justice, 
and  not  afraid  to  say  so,  by  word  or  deed,  to  Lord  Dun- 
more  and  to  Lord  Dunmore's  master.  Such  a  leader 
they  thought  they  saw  in  Patrick  Henry.  Accordingly, 
even  on  his  march  homeward  from  Doncastle's  Ordi 
nary,  the  heart  of  Virginia  began  to  go  forth  to  him  iu 
expressions  of  love,  of  gratitude,  and  of  homage,  such 
as  no  American  colonist  perhaps  had  ever  before  re 
ceived.  Upon  his  return  home,  his  own  county  greeted 
him  with  its  official  approval.1  On  the  8th  of  May, 
the  county  of  Louisa  sent  him  her  thanks ; 2  and  on  the 
following  day,  messages  to  the  same  effect  were  sent 
from  the  counties  of  Orange  and  Spottsylvania.3  On  the 
19th  of  May,  an  address  "  to  the  inhabitants  of  Virginia," 
under  the  signature  of  "  Brutus,"  saluted  Patrick  Henry 
as  "his  country's  and  America's  unalterable  and  unap- 
palled  great  advocate  and  friend."  4  On  the  22d  of  May, 
Prince  William  County  declared  its  thanks  to  be  "justly 
due  to  Captain  Patrick  Henry,  and  the  gentlemen  vol 
unteers  who  attended  him,  for  their  proper  and  spirited 
conduct."  5  On  the  26th  of  May,  Loudoun  County  de 
clared  its  cordial  approval.6  On  the  9th  of  June,  the 
volunteer  company  of  Lancaster  County  resolved  "  that 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  540,  541.  2  ibid.  ii.  529. 

3  Ibid.  ii.  539,  540  4  Ibid.  ii.  641. 

5  Ibid.  ii.  667.  6  Ibid.  ii.  710,  711, 


146  PATRICK  HENRY. 

every  member  of  this  company  do  return  thanks  to  the 
worthy  Captain  Patrick  Henry  and  the  volunteer  com 
pany  of  Hanover,  for  their  spirited  conduct  on  a  late 
expedition,  and  they  are  determined  to  protect  him  from 
any  insult  that  may  be  offered  him,  on  that  account,  at 
the  risk  of  life  and  fortune."1  On  the  19th  of  June, 
resolutions  of  gratitude  and  confidence  were  voted  by 
the  counties  of  Prince  Edward  and  of  Frederick,  the 
latter  saying :  "  We  should  blush  to  be  thus  late  in  our 
commendations  of,  and  thanks  to,  Patrick  Henry,  Es 
quire,  for  his  patriotic  and  spirited  behavior  in  making 
reprisals  for  the  powder  so  unconstitutionally.  .  .  taken 
from  the  public  magazine,  could  we  have  entertained  a 
thought  that  any  part  of  the  colony  would  have  con 
demned  a  measure  calculated  for  the  benefit  of  the 
whole  ;  but  as  we  are  informed  this  is  the  case,  we  beg 
leave  ...  to  assure  that  gentleman  that  we  did  from 
the  first,  and  still  do,  most  cordially  approve  and  com 
mend  his  conduct  in  that  affair.  The  good  people  of 
this  county  will  never  fail  to  approve  and  support  him 
to  the  utmost  of  their  powers  in  every  action  derived 
from  so  rich  a  source  as  the  love  of  his  country.  We 
heartily  thank  him  for  stepping  forth  to  convince  the 
tools  of  despotism  that  freeboru  men  are  not  to  be  in 
timidated,  by  any  form  of  danger,  to  submit  to  the  arbi 
trary  acts  of  their  rulers."  5  On  the  10th  of  July,  the 
county  of  Fincastle  prolonged  the  strain  of  public  affec 
tion  and  applause  by  assuring  Patrick  Henry  that  it 
would  support  and  justify  him  at  the  risk  of  life  and 
fortune.8 

i  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  938.  2  ibid.  ii.  1024. 

3  Ibid.  ii.  1620,  1621.  For  notable  comments  on  Patrick  Henry's 
"  striking  and  lucky  coup  de  main,11  see  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  i. 
93,  94  ;  Works  of  Jefferson,  i.  116,  117  ;  Charles  Mackay,  Founder* 
of  the  American  Republic.  232-234:  327. 


THE  RAPE    OF   THE    GUNPOWDER.  147 

In  the  mean  time,  the  second  continental  congress 
had  already  convened  at  Philadelphia,  beginning  its 
work  on  the  10th  of  May.  The  journal  mentions  the 
presence,  on  that  day,  of  all  the  delegates  from  Vir 
ginia,  excepting  Patrick  Henry,  who,  of  course,  had 
been  delayed  in  his  preparations  for  the  journey  by 
the  events  which  we  have  just  described.  Not  until 
the  llth  of  May  was  he  able  to  set  out  from  his  home ; 
and  he  was  then  accompanied  upon  his  journey,  to  a 
point  beyond  the  borders  of  the  colony,  by  a  spon 
taneous  escort  of  armed  men,  —  a  token,  not  only  of  the 
popular  love  for  him,  but  of  the  popular  anxiety  lest 
Dun  more  should  take  the  occasion  of  an  unprotected 
journey  to  put  him  under  arrest.  "  Yesterday,"  says 
a  document  dated  at  Hanover,  May  the  12th,  1775, 
"  Patrick  Henry,  one  of  the  delegates  for  this  colony, 
escorted  by  a  number  of  respectable  young  gentlemen, 
volunteers  from  this  and  King  William  and  Caroline 
counties,  set  out  to  attend  the  general  congress.  They 
proceeded  with  him  as  far  as  Mrs.  Hooe's  ferry,  on  the 
Potomac,  by  whom  they  were  most  kindly  and  hospi 
tably  entertained,  and  also  provided  with  boats  and 
hands  to  cross  the  river  ;  and  after  partaking  of  this 
lady's  beneficence,  the  bulk  of  the  company  took  their 
leave  of  Mr.  Henry,  saluting  him  with  two  platoons 
and  repeated  huzzas.  A  guard  accompanied  that  worthy 
gentleman  to  the  Maryland  side,  who  saw  him  safely 
landed ;  and  committing  him  to  the  gracious  and  wise 
Disposer  of  all  human  events,  to  guide  and  protect  him 
whilst  contending  for  a  restitution  of  our  dearest  rights 
and  liberties,  they  wished  him  a  safe  journey,  and  happy 
return  to  his  family  and  friends." l 

i  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  541. 


CHAPTER  XL 

IN    CONGRESS    AND    IN    CAMP. 

ON  Thursday,  the  18th  of  May,  Patrick  Henry  took 
his  seat  in  the  second  continental  congress  ;  and  he  ap 
pears  thenceforward  to  have  continued  in  attendance 
until  the  very  end  of  the  session,  which  occurred  on  the 
1st  of  August.  From  the  official  journal  of  this  con 
gress,  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  full  extent  of  any 
member's  participation  in  its  work.  Its  proceedings 
were  transacted  in  secret ;  and  only  such  results  were 
announced  to  the  public  as,  in  the  opinion  of  congress, 
it  was  desirable  that  the  public  should  know.  Then,  too* 
from  the  private  correspondence  and  the  diaries  of  its 
members  but  little  help  can  be  got.  As  affecting  Pat 
rick  Henry,  almost  the  only  non-official  testimony  that 
has  been  found  is  that  of  Jefferson,  who,  however,  did 
not  enter  this  congress  until  its  session  was  half  gone, 
and  who,  forty  years  afterward,  wrote  what  he  proba 
bly  supposed  to  be  his  recollections  concerning  his  old 
friend's  deportment  and  influence  in  that  body :  "  I 
found  Mr.  Henry  to  be  a  silent  and  almost  unmeddling 
member  in  congress.  On  the  original  opening  of  that 
body,  while  general  grievances  were  the  topic,  he  was 
in  his  element,  and  captivated  all  by  his  bold  and 
splendid  eloquence.  But  as  soon  as  they  came  to 
specific  matters,  to  sober  reasoning  and  solid  argument 
ation,  he  had  the  good  sense  to  perceive  that  his  dec- 


IN   CONGRESS   AND   IN  CAMP.  149 

lamation,  however  excellent  in  its  proper  place,  had 
no  weight  at  all  in  such  an  assembly  as  that,  of  cool- 
headed,  reflecting,  judicious  men.  He  ceased,  there 
fore,  in  a  great  measure,  to  take  any  part  in  the  busi 
ness.  He  seemed,  indeed,  very  tired  of  the  place,  and 
wonderfully  relieved  when,  by  appointment  of  the  Vir 
ginia  convention  to  be  colonel  of  their  first  regiment, 
he  was  permitted  to  leave  congress,  about  the  last  of 
July." l 

Perhaps  the  principal  value  of  this  testimony  is  to 
serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  extreme  fragility  of  any 
man's  memory  respecting  events  long  passed,  even  in 
his  own  experience.  Thus,  Jefferson  here  remembers 
how  "  wonderfully  relieved "  Patrick  Henry  was  at 
being  "  permitted  to  leave  congress  "  on  account  of  his 
appointment  by  the  Virginia  convention  "  to  be  colonel 
of  their  first  regiment."  But,  from  the  official  records 
of  the  time,  it  can  now  be  shown  that  neither  of  the 
things  which  Jefferson  thus  remembers,  ever  had  any 
existence  in  fact.  In  the  first  place,  the  journal  of  the 
Virginia  convention 2  indicates  that  Patrick  Henry's 
appointment  as  colonel  could  not  have  been  the  occa 
sion  of  any  such  relief  from  congressional  duties  as 
Jefferson  speaks  of ;  for  that  appointment  was  not 
made  until  five  days  after  congress  itself  had  ad 
journed,  when,  of  course,  Patrick  Henry  and  his  fel 
low  delegates,  including  Jefferson,  were  already  far 
advanced  on  their  journey  back  to  Virginia.  In  the 
second  place,  the  journal  of  congress 3  indicates  that 
Patrick  Henry  had  no  such  relief  from  congressional 
duties,  on  any  account,  but  was  bearing  his  full  share  in 

1  Hist.  Mag.  for  Aug.  1867,  92. 

2  4  Am.  Arch.,  iii.  375.  8  Ibid.  ii.  1902. 


150  PATRICK   HENRY. 

its  business,  even  in  the  plainest  and  most  practical  de 
tails,  down  to  the  very  end  of  the  session. 

Any  one  who  now  recalls  the  tremendous  events  that 
were  taking  place  in  the  land  while  the  second  conti 
nental  congress  was  in  session,  and  the  immense  ques 
tions  of  policy  and  of  administration  with  which  it  had 
to  deal,  will  find  it  hard  to  believe  that  its  deliberations 
were  out  of  the  range  of  Patrick  Henry's  sympathies 
or  capacities,  or  that  he  could  have  been  the  listless, 
speechless,  and  ineffective  member  depicted  by  the  later 
pen  of  Jefferson.  When  that  congress  first  came  to 
gether,  the  blood  was  as  yet  hardly  dry  on  the  grass  in 
Lexington  Common ;  on  the  very  morning  on  which  its 
session  opened,  the  colonial  troops  burst  into  the  strong 
hold  at  Ticonderoga ;  and  when  the  session  had  lasted 
but  six  weeks,  its  members  were  conferring  together 
over  the  ghastly  news  from  Bunker  Hill.  The  organi 
zation  of  some  kind  of  national  government  for  thirteen 
colonies  precipitated  into  a  state  of  war ;  the  creation 
of  a  national  army ;  the  selection  of  a  commander-in- 
chief,  and  of  the  officers  to  serve  under  him  ;  the  hur 
ried  fortification  of  coasts,  harbors,  cities ;  the  supply  of 
the  troops  with  clothes,  tents,  weapons,  ammunition, 
food,  medicine ;  protection  against  the  Indian  tribes 
along  the  frontier  of  nearly  every  colony ;  the  good 
will  of  the  people  of  Canada,  and  of  Jamaica ;  a  solemn, 
final  appeal  to  the  king  and  to  the  people  of  England ; 
an  appeal  to  the  people  of  Ireland;  finally,  a  grave 
statement  to  all  mankind  of  "  the  causes  and  necessity 
of  their  taking  up  arms,"  —  these  were  among  the 
weighty  and  soul-stirring  matters  which  the  second  con 
tinental  congress  had  to  consider  and  to  decide  upon. 
For  any  man  to  say,  forty  years  afterward,  even  though 


IN  CONGRESS  AND   IN  CAMP.  151 

he  say  it  with  all  the  authority  of  the  renown  of  Thomas 
Jefferson,  that,  in  the  presence  of  such  questions,  the 
spirit  of  Patrick  Henry  was  dull  or  unconcerned,  and 
that,  in  a  congress  which  had  to  deal  with  such  ques 
tions,  he  was  "  a  silent  and  almost  unmeddling  mem 
ber,"  is  to  put  a  strain  upon  human  confidence  which  it 
is  unable  to  bear. 

The  formula  by  which  the  daily  labors  of  this  con 
gress  are  frequently  described  in  its  own  journal  is, 
that  "  congress  met  according  to  adjournment,  and, 
agreeable  to  the  order  of  the  day,  again  resolved  itself 
into  a  committee  of  the  whole  to  take  into  consideration 
the  state  of  America ;  and  after  some  time  spent  therein, 
the  president  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Ward,  from 
the  committee,  reported  that  they  had  proceeded  in  the 
business,  but,  not  having  completed  it,  desired  him  to 
move  for  leave  to  sit  again."  l  And  although,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  session,  no  mention  is  made 
of  any  word  spoken  in  debate  by  any  member,  we  can 
yet  glean,  even  from  that  meagre  record,  enough  to 
prove  that  upon  Patrick  Henry  was  laid  about  as  much 
labor  in  the  form  of  committee-work  as  upon  any  other 
member  of  the  house,  —  a  fair  test,  it  is  believed,  of  any 
man's  zeal,  industry,  and  influence  in  any  legislative 
body. 

Further,  it  will  be  noted  that  the  committee-work  to 
which  he  was  thus  assigned  was  often  of  the  homeliest 
and  most  prosaic  kind,  calling  not  for  declamatory  gifts, 
but  for  common  sense,  discrimination,  experience,  and 
knowledge  of  men  and  things.  He  seems,  also,  to  have 
had  special  interest  and  authority  in  the  several  anxious 
phases  of  the  Indian  question  as  presented  by  the 
i  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  1834. 


152  PATRICK  HENRY. 

exigencies  of  that  awful  crisis,  and  to  have  been  placed 
on  every  committee  that  was  appointed  to  deal  with 
any  branch  of  the  subject.  Thus,  on  the  16th  of  June, 
he  was  placed  with  General  Schuyler,  James  Duane, 
James  Wilson,  and  Philip  Livingston,  on  a  committee 
"  to  take  into  consideration  the  papers  transmitted  from 
the  convention  of  New  York,  relative  to  Indian  affairs, 
and  report  what  steps,  in  their  opinion,  are  necessary  to 
be  taken  for  securing  and  preserving  the  friendship  of 
the  Indian  nations."  l  On  the  19th  of  June,  he  served 
with  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Lynch  on  a  committee 
to  inform  Charles  Lee  of  his  appointment  as  second 
major-general ;  and  when  Lee's  answer  imported  that 
his  situation  and  circumstances  as  a  British  officer  re 
quired  some  further  and  very  careful  negotiations  with 
congress,  Patrick  Henry  was  placed  upon  the  special 
committee  to  which  this  delicate  business  was  intrusted.2 
On  the  21st  of  June,  the  very  day  on  which,  according 
to  the  journal,  "  Mr.  Thomas  Jefferson  appeared  as  a 
delegate  for  the  colony  of  Virginia,  and  produced  his 
credentials,"  his  colleague,  Patrick  Henry,  rose  in  his 
place  and  stated  that  Washington  "  had  put  into  his 
hand  sundry  queries,  to  which  he  desired  the  congress 
would  give  an  answer."  These  queries  necessarily  in 
volved  subjects  of  serious  concern  to  the  cause  for 
which  they  were  about  to  plunge  into  war,  and  would 
certainly  require  for  their  consideration  "  cool-headed, 
reflecting,  and  judicious  men."  The  committee  ap 
pointed  for  the  purpose  consisted  of  Silas  Deane,  Pat 
rick  Henry,  John  Rutledge,  Samuel  Adams,  and  Rich 
ard  Henry  Lee.8  On  the  10th  of  July,  "  Mr.  Alsop 

i  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii   1849.  2  ibid.  ii.  1850,  1851. 

a  Ibid.  ii.  1352. 


IN  CONGRESS  AND   IN  CAMP.  153 

informed  the  congress  that  he  had  an  invoice  of  Indian 
goods,  which  a  gentleman  in  this  town  had  delivered  to 
him,  and  which  the  said  gentleman  was  willing  to  dis 
pose  of  to  the  congress."  The  committee  "  to  examine 
the  said  invoice  and  report  to  the  congress  "  was  com 
posed  of  Philip  Livingston,  Patrick  Henry,  and  John 
Alsop.1  On  the  12th  of  July,  it  was  resolved  to  or 
ganize  three  departments  for  the  management  of  Indian 
affairs,  the  commissioners  to  "  have  power  to  treat  with 
the  Indians  in  their  respective  departments,  in  the  name 
and  on  behalf  of  the  United  Colonies,  in  order  to  pre 
serve  peace  and  friendship  with  the  said  Indians,  and  to 
prevent  their  taking  any  part  in  the  present  commo 
tions."  On  the  following  day  the  commissioners  for 
the  middle  department  were  elected,  namely,  Franklin, 
Patrick  Henry,  and  James  Wilson.2  On  the  17th  of 
July,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  negotiate  with  the 
Indian  missionary,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  respect 
ing  his  past  and  future  services  among  the  Six  Nations, 
u  in  order  to  secure  their  friendship,  and  to  continue 
them  in  a  state  of  neutrality  with  respect  to  the  present 
controversy  between  Great  Britain  and  these  colonies." 
This  committee  consisted  of  Thomas  Gushing,  Patrick 
Henry,  and  Silas  Deane.3  Finally,  on  the  31st  of  July, 
next  to  the  last  day  of  the  session,  a  committee  con 
sisting  of  one  member  for  each  colony  was  appointed 
to  serve  in  the  recess  of  Congress,  for  the  very  practical 
and  urgent  purpose  of  inquiring  "  in  all  the  colonies 
after  virgin  lead  and  leaden  ore,  and  the  best  methods 
of  collecting,  smelting,  and  refining  it ;  "  also,  after  "  the 
cheapest  and  easiest  methods  of  making  salt  in  these 

i  4  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  1878.  2  Ibid.  ii.  1879,  1883. 

«  Ibid.  ii.  1884,  1885. 


154  PATRICK   HENRY. 

colonies."  This  was  not  a  committee  on  which  any 
man  could  be  useful  who  had  only  "  declamation  "  to 
contribute  to  its  work  ;  and  the  several  colonies  were 
represented  upon  it  by  their  most  sagacious  and  their 
weightiest  men,  —  as  New  Hampshire  by  Langdon, 
Massachusetts  by  John  Adams,  Rhode  Island  by  Ste 
phen  Hopkins,  Pennsylvania  by  Franklin,  Delaware  by 
Rodney,  South  Carolina  by  Gadsden,  Virginia  by  Pat 
rick  Henry.1 

On  the  day  on  which  this  committee  was  appointed, 
Patrick  Henry  wrote  to  Washington,  then  at  the  head 
quarters  of  the  army  near  Boston,  a  letter  which  de 
noted  on  the  part  of  the  writer  a  perception,  unusual  at 
that  time,  of  the  gravity  and  duration  of  the  struggle 
on  which  the  colonies  were  just  entering:  — 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  July  31s<,  1775. 

"  SIR,  —  Give  me  leave  to  recommend  the  bearer,  Mf 
Frazer,  to  your  notice  and  regard.  He  means  to  enter 
the  American  camp,  and  there  to  gain  that  experience, 
of  which  the  general  cause  may  be  avail'd.  It  is  my 
earnest  wish  that  many  Virginians  might  see  service. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  in  the  fluctuation  of  things  our 
country  may  have  occasion  for  great  military  exertions. 
For  this  reason  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  trouble  you 
with  this  and  a  few  others  of  the  same  tendency.  The 
public  good  which  you,  sir,  have  so  eminently  promoted, 
is  my  only  motive.  That  you  may  enjoy  the  protection 
of  Heaven  and  live  long  and  happy  is  the  ardent  wish 
of,  "  Sir, 

"  Y'  mo.  ob'  hbl  serv., 

"P.  HENRY,  JR.2 
"  His  Excellency  GKNL  WASHINGTON." 

i  4  Am.  Arch.,  \\.  1902.  2  MS. 


IN  CONGRESS  AND   IN   CAMP.  155 

On  the  following  day  Congress  adjourned.  As  soon 
as  possible  after  its  adjournment,  the  Virginia  delegates 
seem  to  have  departed  for  home,  to  take  their  places  in 
the  convention  then  in  session  at  Richmond  ;  for  the 
journal  of  that  convention  mentions  that  on  Wednes 
day,  August  the  9th,  "  Patrick  Henry,  Edmund  Pendle- 
ton,  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  Es 
quires,  appeared  in  Convention,  and  took  their  seats."1 
On  the  next  day  an  incident  occurred  in  the  conven 
tion  implying  that  Patrick  Henry,  during  his  absence 
in  congress,  had  been  able  to  serve  his  colony  by  other 
gifts  as  well  as  by  those  of  il  bold  arid  splendid  elo 
quence  : "  it  was  resolved  that  "  the  powder  purchased 
by  Patrick  Henry,  Esquire,  for  the  use  of  this  colony, 
be  immediately  sent  for." C<L  On  the  day  following  that, 
the  convention  resolved  unanimously  that  "  the  thanks  of 
this  convention  are  justly  due  to  his  excellency,  George 
Washington,  Esquire,  Patrick  Henry,  and  Edmund 
Pendletori,  Esquires,  three  of  the  worthy  delegates  who 
represented  this  colony  in  the  late  continental  con 
gress,  for  their  faithful  discharge  of  that  important 
trust ;  and  this  body  are  only  induced  to  dispense  with 
their  future  services  of  the  like  kind,  by  the  appoint 
ment  of  the  two  former  to  other  offices  in  the  public 
service,  incompatible  with  their  attendance  on  this,  arid 
the  infirm  state  of  health  of  the  latter."  8 

Of  course,  the  two  appointments  here  referred  to  are 
of  Washington  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  of 
the  United  Colonies,  and  of  Patrick  Henry  as  com 
mander-in-chief  of  the  forces  of  Virginia,  —  the  latter 
appointment  having  been  made  by  the  Virginia  conven- 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  iii.  377.  2  ibid.  iii.  377,  378. 

«  4  Ibid.  iii.  378. 


15G  PATRICK  HENRY. 

tion  on  the  5th  of  August.  The  commission,  which 
passed  the  convention  on  the  28th  of  that  month, 
constituted  Patrick  Henry  "  colonel  of  the  first  regi 
ment  of  regulars,  and  commander-iu-chief  of  all  the 
forces  to  be  raised  for  the  protection  and  defence  of  this 
colony  ;  "  and  while  it  required  "  all  officers  and  soldiers, 
and  every  person  whatsoever,  in  any  way  concerned,  to 
be  obedient"  to  him,  "in  all  things  touching  the  due 
execution  of  this  commision,"  it  also  required  him  to  be 
obedient  to  "  all  orders  and  instructions  which,  from 
time  to  time,"  he  might  "receive  from  the  conven 
tion  or  committee  of  safety."  l  Accordingly,  Patrick 
Henry's  control  of  military  proceedings  in  Virginia 
was,  as  it  proved,  nothing  more  than  nominal  :  it  was  a 
supreme  command  on  paper,  tempered  in  actual  expe 
rience  by  the  incessant  and  distrustful  interference  of 
an  ever-present  body  of  civilians,  who  had  all  power 
over  him. 

A  newspaper  of  Williamsburg  for  the  23d  of  Sep 
tember  announces  the  arrival  there,  two  days  before, 
of  "  Patrick  Henry,  Esquire,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Virginia  forces.  He  was  met  and  escorted  to  town  by 
the  whole  body  of  volunteers,  who  paid  him  every  mark 
of  respect  and  distinction  in  their  power."  2  Thereupon 
he  inspected  the  grounds  about  the  city ;  and  as  a  place 
suitable  for  the  encampment,  he  fixed  upon  a  site  in  the 
rear  of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary.  Soon  troops 
began  to  arrive  in  considerable  numbers,  and  to  prepare 
themselves  for  whatever  service  might  be  required  of 
them.3  There  was,  however,  a  sad  lack  of  arms  and 
ammunition.  On  the  loth  of  October,  Pendleton,  who 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  iii.  393.     See,  also,  his  oath  of  office,  Ibid.  iii.  411. 

2  Ibid,  iii.776.  s  Wirt,  159. 


IN  CONGRESS  AND   IN    CAMP.  157 

was  at  the  head  of  the  committee  of  safety,  gave  this 
account  of  the  situation  in  a  letter  to  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  then  in  congress  at  Philadelphia  :  "  Had  we  arms 
and  ammunition,  it  would  give  vigor  to  our  measures. 
.  .  .  Nine  companies  of  regulars  are  here,  and  seem 
very  clever  .men  ;  others,  we  hear,  are  ready,  and  only 
wait  to  collect  arms.  Lord  Dunmore's  forces  are  only 
one  hundred  and  sixty  as  yet,  intrenched  at  Gosport, 
and  supported  by  the  ships  drawn  up  before  that  and 
Norfolk."1  On  the  30th  of  November,  Lord  Dun- 
more,  who  had  been  compelled  by  the  smallness  of  his 
land  force  to  take  refuge  upon  his  armed  vessels  off  the 
coast,  thus  described  the  situation,  in  a  letter  to  General 
Sir  William  Howe,  then  in  command  at  Boston :  "  I 
must  inform  you  that  with  our  little  corps,  I  think  we 
have  done  wonders.  We  have  taken  and  destroyed  above 
four  score  pieces  of  ordnance,  and,  by  landing  in  differ 
ent  parts  of  the  country,  we  keep  them  in  continual  hot 
water.  .  .  .  Having  heard  that  a  thousand  chosen  men 
belonging  to  the  rebels,  great  part  of  whom  were  rifle 
men,  were  on  their  march  to  attack  us  here,  or  to  cut 
off  our  provisions,  I  determined  to  take  possession  of  the 
pass  at  the  Great  Bridge,  which  secures  us  the  greatest 
part  of  two  counties  to  supply  us  with  provisions.  I 
accordingly  ordered  a  stockade  fort  to  be  erected  there, 
which  was  done  in  a  few  days  ;  and  I  put  an  officer  and 
twentv-five  men  to  garrison  it,  with  some  volunteers 
and  negroes,  who  have  defended  it  against  all  the  efforts 
of  the  rebels  for  these  eight  days.  We  have  killed 
several  of  their  men  ;  and  I  make  no  doubt  we  shall 
now  be  able  to  maintain  our  ground  there ;  but  should 
we  be  obliged  to  abandon  it,  we  have  thrown  up  an  in- 
l  4  Am.  Arch.,  iii.  1067. 


158  PATRICK   HENRY. 

trenchment  on  the  land  side  of  Norfolk,  which  I  hope 
they  will  never  be  able  to  force.  Here  we  are,  with 
only  the  small  part  of  a  regiment,  contending  against 
the  extensive  colony  of  Virginia."  J 

But  who  were  these  "  thousand  chosen  men  belong 
ing  to  the  rebels,"  who,  on  their  march  to  attack  Lord 
Dun  more  at  Norfolk,  had  thus  been  held  in  check  by 
his  little  fort  at  the  Great  Bridge?  We  are  told  by 
Dun  more  himself  that  they  were  Virginia  troops.  But 
why  was  not  Patrick  Henry  in  immediate  command  of 
them?  Why  was  Patrick  Henry  held  back  from  this 
service,  —  the  only  active  service  then  to  be  had  in  the 
field?  And  why  was  the  direction  of  this  important 
enterprise  given  to  his  subordinate,  Colonel  William 
Woodford,  of  the  second  regiment  ?  There  is  abundant 
evidence  that  Patrick  Henry  had  eagerly  desired  to  con 
duct  this  expedition  ;  .that  he  had  even  solicited  the 
committee  of  safety  to  permit  him  to  do  so ;  but  that 
they,  distrusting  his  military  capacity,  overruled  his 
wishes,  and  gave  this  fine  opportunity  for  military  dis 
tinction  to  the  officer  next  below  him  in  command. 
Moreover,  no  sooner  had  Colonel  Woodford  departed 
upon  the  service,  than  he  began  to  ignore  altogether 
the  commauder-in-chief,  and  to  make  his  communica 
tions  directly  to  the  committee  of  safety,  —  a  course  in 
which  he  was  virtually  sustained  by  that  body,  on  ap 
peal  being  made  to  them.  Furthermore,  on  the  9th 
of  December,  Colonel  Woodford  won  a  brilliant  victory 
over  the  enemy  at  the  Great  Bridge,2  thus  apparently 
justifying  to  the  public  the  wisdom  of  the  committee  in 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  in.  1713-1715. 

2  Graphic  contemporary  accounts  of  this  battle  may  be  found  in 

Arch.,  iv.  224,  228,  229. 


IN  CONGRESS  AND  IN  CAMP.  159 

assigning  the  work  to  him,  and  also  throwing  still  more 
into  the  background  the  commander-in-chief,  who  was 
then  chafing  in  camp  over  his  enforced  retirement  from 
this  duty.  But  this  was  not  the  only  cup  of  humiliation 
which  was  pressed  to  his  lips.  Not  long  afterward, 
there  arrived  at  the  seat  of  war  a  few  hundred  North 
Carolina  troops,  under  command  of  Colonel  Robert 
Howe ;  and  the  latter,  with  the  full  consent  of  Wood- 
ford,  at  once  took  command  of  their  united  forces,  and 
thenceforward  addressed  his  official  letters  solely  to  the 
convention  of  Virginia,  or  to  the  committee  of  safety, 
paying  not  the  slightest  attention  to  the  commander-in- 
chief.1  Finally  on  the  28th  of  December,  congress 
decided  to  raise  in  Virginia  six  battalions  to  be  taken 
into  continental  pay  ; 2  and,  by  a  subsequent  vote,  it 
likewise  resolved  to  include  within  these  six  battalions 
the  first  and  the  second  Virginia  regiments  already 
raised.3  A  commission  was  accordingly  sent  to  Patrick 
Henry  as  colonel  of  the  first  Virginia  battalion,4  —  an 
official  intimation  that  the  expected  commission  of  a 
brigadier-general  for  Virginia  was  to  be  given  to  some 
one  else. 

On  receiving  this  last  affront,  Patrick  Henry  deter 
mined  to  lay  down  his  military  appointments,  which  he 
did  on  the  28th  of  February,  1776,  and  at  once  pre 
pared  to  leave  the  camp.  As  soon  as  this  news  got 
abroad  among  the  troops,  they  all,  according  to  a  con 
temporary  account, 5  "  went  into  mourning,  and,  under 
arms,  waited  on  him  at  his  lodgings,"  when  his  officers 
presented  to  him  an  affectionate  address :  — 

i  Wirt,  178.  2  4  Am.  Arch.,  iii.  1962. 

3  4  Am.  Arch.,  iv.  1669.  *  Ibid.  iv.  1517. 

6  Ibid.  iv.  1515,  1516. 


160  PATRICK  HENRY. 

"To  PATRICK  HENRY,  JUNIOR,  ESQUIRE: 

"  Deeply  impressed  with  a  grateful  sense  of  the  obli 
gations  we  lie  under  to  you  for  the  polite,  humane,  and 
tender  treatment  manifested  to  us  throughout  the  whole 
of  your  conduct,  while  we  have  had  the  honor  of  being 
under  your  command,  permit  us  to  offer  to  you  our  sin 
cere  thanks,  as  the  only  tribute  we  have  in  our  power  to 
pay  to  your  real  merits.  Notwithstanding  your  with 
drawing  yourself  from  service  fills  us  with  the  most  poig 
nant  sorrow,  as  it  at  once  deprives  us  of  our  father  and 
general,  yet,  as  gentlemen,  we  are  compelled  to  applaud 
your  spirited  resentment  to  the  most  glaring  indignity. 
May  your  merit  shine  as  conspicuous  to  the  world  in 
general  as  it  hath  done  to  us,  and  may  Heaven  shower 
its  choicest  blessings  upon  you. 

"  WILLIAMSBURG,  February  29,  1776." 

His  reply  to  this  warm-hearted  message  was  in  the 
following  words :  — 

"  GENTLEMEN,  —  I  am  extremely  obliged  to  you  for 
your  approbation  of  my  conduct.  Your  address  does 
me  the  highest  honor.  This  kind  testimony  of  your 
regard  to  me  would  have  been  an  ample  reward  for 
services  much  greater  than  I  have  had  the  power  to 
perform.  I  return  you,  and  each  of  you,  gentlemen, 
my  best  acknowledgments  for  the  spirit,  alacrity,  and 
zeal  you  have  constantly  shown  in  your  several  sta 
tions.  I  am  unhappy  to  part  with  you.  I  leave  the 
service,  but  I  leave  my  heart  with  you.  May  God  bless 
you,  and  give  you  success  and  safety,  and  make  you  the 
glorious  instruments  of  saving  our  country."  l 

l  4  Am.  Arch,,  iv.  1516  ;  also,  Wirt,  180,  181. 


IN  CONGRESS  AND   IN  CAMP.  161 

The  grief  and  indignation  thus  exhibited  by  the 
officers  who  had  served  under  Patrick  Henry  soon 
showed  itself  in  a  somewhat  violent  manner  among  the 
men.  The  "Virginia  Gazette  "  for  that  time  states  that, 
"  after  the  officers  had  received  Colonel  Henry's  kind 
answer  to  their  address,  they  insisted  upon  his  dining 
with  them  at  the  Raleigh  Tavern,  before  his  departure  ; 
and  after  the  dinner,  a  number  of  them  proposed  escort 
ing  him  out  of  town,  but  were  prevented  by  some  un 
easiness  getting  among  the  soldiery,  who  assembled  in 
a  tumultuous  manner  and  demanded  their  discharge, 
and  declaring  their  unwillingness  to  serve  under  any 
other  commander.  Upon  which  Colonel  Henry  found 
it  necessary  to  stay  a  night  longer  in  town,  which  he 
spent  in  visiting  the  several  barracks  ;  and  used  every 
argument  in  his  power  with  the  soldiery  to  lay  aside 
their  imprudent  resolution,  and  to  continue  in  the  ser 
vice,  which  he  had  quitted  from  motives  in  which  his 
honor  alone  was  concerned."  l  Moreover,  several  days 
after  he  had  left  the  camp  altogether  and  had  returned 
to  his  home,  he  was  followed  by  an  address  signed  by 
ninety  officers  belonging  not  only  to  his  own  regiment, 
but  to  that  of  Colonel  Woodford,  —  a  document  which 
has  no  little  value  as  presenting  strongly  one  side  of 
contemporary  military  opinion  respecting  Patrick 
Henry's  career  as  a  soldier,  and  the  treatment  to  which 
he  had  been  subjected. 

"  SIR,  —  Deeply  concerned  for  the  good  of  our  coun 
try,  we  sincerely  lament  the  unhappy  necessity  of  your 
resignation,  and  with  all  the  warmth  of  affection  assure 
you  that,  whatever  may  have  given  rise  to  the  indignity 
1  4  Am.  Arch.,  iv.  1516. 


162  PATRICK   HENRY. 

lately  offered  to  you,  we  join  with  the  general  voice  of 
the  people,  and  think  it  our  duty  to  make  this  public 
declaration  of  our  high  respect  for  your  distinguished 
merit.  To  your  vigilance  and  judgment,  as  a  senator, 
this  United  Continent  bears  ample  testimony,  while  she 
prosecutes  her  steady  opposition  to  those  destructive 
ministerial  measures  which  your  eloquence  first  pointed 
out  and  taught  to  resent,  and  your  resolution  led  for 
ward  to  resist.  To  your  extensive  popularity  the  ser 
vice,  also,  is  greatly  indebted  for  the  expedition  with 
which  the  troops  were  raised ;  and  while  they  were  con 
tinued  under  your  command,  the  firmness,  candor,  and 
politeness,  which  formed  the  complexion  of  your  con 
duct  towards  them,  obtained  the  signal  approbation  of 
the  wise  and  virtuous,  and  will  leave  upon  our  minds 
the  most  grateful  impression. 

"  Although  retired  from  the  immediate  concerns  of 
war,  we  solicit  the  continuance  of  your  kindly  attention. 
We  know  your  attachment  to  the  best  of  causes  ;  we 
have  the  fullest  confidence  in  your  abilities,  and  in  the 
rectitude  of  your  views ;  and,  however  willing  the  en 
vious  may  be  to  undermine  an  established  reputation,  we 
trust  the  day  will  come  when  justice  shall  prevail,  and 
thereby  secure  you  an  honorable  and  happy  return  to 
the  glorious  employment  of  conducting  our  councils  and 
hazarding  your  life  in  the  defence  of  your  country."1 

The  public  agitation  over  the  alleged  wrong  which 
had  thus  been  done  to  Patrick  Henry  during  his  brief 
military  career,  and  which  had  brought  that  career  to 
its  abrupt  and  painful  close,  seems  to  have  continued  for 
a  considerable  time.  Throughout  the  colony  the  blame 
i  4  Am.  Arch.,  iv.  1516,  1517. 


IN  CONGRESS  AND  IN  CAMP.  163 

was  openly  and  bluntly  laid  upon  the  committee  of 
safety,  who,  on  account  of  envy,  it  was  said,  had  tried 
"to  bury  in  obscurity  his  martial  talents."1  On  the 
other  hand,  the  course  pursued  by  that  committee  was 
ably  defended  by  many,  on  the  ground  that  Patrick 
Henry,  with  all  his  great  gifts  for  civil  life,  really  had 
no  fitness  for  a  leading  military  position.  One  writer 
asserted  that  even  in  the  convention  which  had  elected 
Patrick  Henry  as  commander-in-chief,  it  was  objected 
that  "  his  studies  had  been  directed  to  civil  and  not  to 
military  pursuits ;  that  he  was  totally  unacquainted  with 
the  art  of  war,  and  had  no  knowledge  of  military  disci 
pline  ;  and  that  such  a  person  was  very  unfit  to  be  at  the 
head  of  troops  who  were  likely  to  be  engaged  with  a 
well-disciplined  army,  commanded  by  experienced  and 
able  generals."2  In  the  very  middle  of  the  period  of 
his  nominal  military  service,  this  opinion  of  his  unfit- 
ness  was  still  more  strongly  urged  by  the  chairman  of 
the  committee  of  safety,  who,  on  the  24th  of  December, 
1775,  said  in  a  letter  to  Colonel  Woodford  :  "  Believe 
me,  sir,  the  unlucky  step  of  calling  that  gentleman  from 
our  councils,  where  he  was  useful,  into  the  field,  in  an 
important  station,  the  duties  of  which  he  must,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  be  an  entire  stranger  to,  has  given  me 
many  an  anxious  and  uneasy  moment.  In  consequence 
of  this  mistaken  step,  which  can't  now  be  retracted  or 
remedied,  —  for  he  has  done  nothing  worthy  of  degra 
dation,  and  must  keep  his  rank,  —  we  must  be  deprived 
of  the  service  of  some  able  officers,  whose  honor  and 
former  ranks  will  not  suffer  them  to  act  under  him  in 
this  juncture,  when  we  so  much  need  their  services."  3 
This  seems  to  have  been,  in  substance,  the  impression 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  iv.  1518.  2  ibid.  iv.  1519.  3  Wirt,  175. 


164  PATRICK   HENRY. 

concerning  Patrick  Henry  held  at  that  time  by  at  least 
two  friendly  and  most  competent  observers,  who  were 
then  looking  on  from  a  distance,  and  who,  of  course, 
were  beyond  the  range  of  any  personal  or  partisan  prej 
udice  upon  the  subject.  Writing  from  Cambridge,  on 
the  7th  of  March,  1776,  before  he  had  received  the 
news  of  Henry's  resignation,  Washington  said  to  Joseph 
Reed,  then  at  Philadelphia  :  "  I  think  my  countrymen 
made  a  capital  mistake  when  they  took  Henry  out  of 
the  senate  to  place  him  in  the  field  ;  and  pity  it  is  that 
he  does  not  see  this,  and  remove  every  difficulty  by  a 
voluntary  resignation."  1  On  the  15th  of  that  month. 
Reed,  in  reply,  gave  to  Washington  this  bit  of  news : 
"  We  have  some  accounts  from  Virginia  that  Colonel 
Henry  has  resigned  in  disgust  at  not  being  made  a  gen 
eral  officer ;  but  it  rather  gives  satisfaction  than  other 
wise,  as  his  abilities  seem  better  calculated  for  the  sen 
ate  than  the  field." 2 

Nevertheless,  in  all  these  contemporary  judgments 
upon  the  alleged  military  defects  of  Patrick  Henry,  no 
reader  can  now  fail  to  note  an  embarrassing  lack  of 
definiteness,  and  a  tendency  to  infer  that,  because  that 
great  man  was  so  great  in  civil  life,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  he  could  not  be  great,  also,  in  military  life,  —  a 
proposition  that  could  be  overthrown  by  numberless 
historical  examples  to  the  contrary.  It  would  greatly 
aid  us  if  we  could  know  precisely  what,  in  actual  ex 
perience,  were  the  defects  found  in  Patrick  Henry  as 
a  military  man,  and  precisely  how  these  defects  were 
exhibited  by  him  in  the  camp  at  Williamsburg.  In  the 
writings  of  that  period,  no  satisfaction  upon  this  point 

1    Writings  of  Washington,  iii.  309. 

*  W.  B.  Reed,  Life  nf  Joseph  Reed,  \.  173. 


IN  CONGRESS  AND  IN  CAMP.  165 

seems  thus  far  to  have  been  obtained.  There  is,  how 
ever,  a  piece  of  later  testimony,  derived  by  authentic 
tradition  from  a  prominent  member  of  the  Virginia 
committee  of  safety,  which  really  helps  one  to  under 
stand  what  may  have  been  the  exact  difficulty  with  the 
military  character  of  Patrick  Henry,  and  just  why,  also, 
it  could  not  be  more  plainly  stated  at  the  time.  Clem 
ent  Carrington,  a  son  of  Paul  Carrington,  told  Hugh 
Blair  Grigsby  that  the  real  ground  of  the  action  of  the 
committee  of  safety  "  was  the  want  of  discipline  in  the 
regiment  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Henry.  None 
doubted  his  courage,  or  his  alacrity  to  hasten  to  the 
field  ;  but  it  was  plain  that  he  did  not  seem  to  be  con 
scious  of  the  importance  of  strict  discipline  in  the  army, 
but  regarded  his  soldiers  as  so  many  gentlemen  who  had 
met  to  defend  their  country,  and  exacted  from  them 
little  more  than  the  courtesy  that  was  proper  among 
equals.  To  have  marched  to  the  sea-board  at  that  time 
with  a  regiment  of  such  men,  would  have  been  to  in 
sure  their  destruction  ;  and  it  was  a  thorough  convic 
tion  of  this  truth  that  prompted  the  decision  of  the  com 
mittee."  x 

Yet,  even  with  this  explanation,  the  truth  remains 
that  Patrick  Henry,  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Vir 
ginia  forces,  never  was  permitted  to  take  command,  or 
to  see  any  real  service  in  the  field,  or  to  look  upon  the 
face  of  an  armed  enemy,  or  to  show,  in  the  only  way  in 
which  it  could  be  shown,  whether  or  not  he  had  the 
gifts  of  a  military  leader  in  action.  As  an  accomplished 
and  noble-minded  Virginian  of  our  own  time  has  said : 
"  It  may  be  doubted  whether  he  possessed  those  quali 
ties  which  make  a  wary  partisan,  and  which  are  so 
1  Grigsby,  Fa.  Cone,  of  1776,  52,  53,  note. 


166  PATRICK  IIENRY. 

often  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  by  uneducated 
men.  Regular  fighting  there  was  none  in  the  colony, 
until  near  the  close  of  the  war.  .  .  .  The  most  skilful 
partisan  in  the  Virginia  of  that  day,  covered  as  it  was 
with  forests,  cut  up  by  streams,  and  beset  by  predatory 
bands,  would  have  been  the  Indian  warrior ;  and  as  a 
soldier  approached  that  model,  would  he  have  possessed 
the  proper  tactics  for  the  time.  That  Henry  would  not 
have  made  a  better  Indian  fighter  than  Jay,  or  Living 
ston,  or  the  Adamses,  that  he  might  not  have  made  as 
dashing  a  partisan  as  Tarleton  or  Simcoe,  his  friends 
might  readily  afford  to  concede  ;  but  that  he  evinced, 
what  neither  Jay,  nor  Livingston,  nor  the  Adamses  did 
evince,  a  determined  resolution  to  stake  his  reputation 
and  his  life  on  the  issue  of  arms,  and  that  he  resigned 
his  commission  when  the  post  of  imminent  danger  was 
refused  him,  exhibit  a  lucid  proof  that,  whatever  may 
have  been  his  ultimate  fortune,  he  was  not  deficient  in 
two  grand  elements  of  military  success,  —  personal  en 
terprise,  and  unquestioned  courage."  l 

i  Grigsby,  Va.  Conv.  of  1776,  151,  152. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

INDEPENDENCE. 

UPON  this  mortifying  close  of  a  military  career  which 
had  opened  with  so  much  expectation  and  even  eclat, 
Patrick  Henry  returned,  early  in  March,  1776,  to  his 
home  in  the  county  of  Hanover,  — a  home  on  which 
then  rested  the  shadow  of  a  great  sorrow.  In  the 
midst  of  the  public  engagements  and  excitements  which 
absorbed  him  during  the  previous  year,  his  wife,  Sarah, 
the  wife  of  his  youth,  the  mother  of  his  six  children, 
had  passed  away.  His  own  subsequent  release  from 
public  labor,  however  bitter  in  its  occasion,  must  have 
brought  to  him  a  great  solace  in  the  few  weeks  of  re 
pose  which  he  then  had  under  his  own  roof,  with  the 
privilege  of  ministering  to  the  happiness  of  his  mother 
less  children,  arid  of  enjoying  onoe  more  their  loving 
companionship  and  sympathy. 

But  in  such  a  crisis  of  his  country's  fate,  such  a  man 
as  Patrick  Henry  could  not  be  permitted  long  to  remain 
in  seclusion  ;  and  the  promptness  and  the  heartiness 
with  which  he  was  now  summoned  back  into  the  ser 
vice  of  the  public  as  a  civilian,  after  the  recent  humilia 
tions  of  his  military  career,  were  accented,  perhaps,  on 
the  part  of  his  neighbors,  by  something  of  the  fervor  of 
intended  compensation,  if  not  of  intended  revenge.  For, 
in  the  mean  time,  the  American  colonies  had  been 
swiftly  advancing,  along  a  path  strewn  with  corpses 


168  PATRICK  HENRY. 

and  wet  with  blood,  towards  the  doctrine  that  a  total 
separation  from  the  mother-country,  —  a  thing  hitherto 
contemplated  by  them  only  as  a  disaster  and  a  crime,  — 
might  after  all  be  neither,  but  on  the  contrary,  the  only 
resource  left  to  them  in  their  desperate  struggle  for  po 
litical  existence.  This  supreme  question,  it  was  plain, 
was  to  confront  the  very  next  Virginia  convention, 
which  was  under  appointment  to  meet  early  in  the 
coming  May.  Almost  at  once,  therefore,  after  his  re 
turn  home,  Patrick  Henry  was  elected  by  his  native 
county  to  represent  it  in  that  convention. 

On  Monday  morning,  the  6th  of  May,  the  conven 
tion  gathered  at  Williamsburg  for  its  first  meeting. 
On  its  roll  of  members  we  see  many  of  those  names 
which  have  become  familiar  to  us  in  the  progress  of 
this  history,  —  the  names  of  those  sturdy  and  well- 
trained  leaders  who  guided  Virginia  during  all  that 
stormy  period,  —  Pendleton,  Gary,  Mason,  Nicholas, 
Bland,  the  Lees,  Mann  Page,  Dudley  Digges,  Wythe, 
Edmund  Randolph,  and  a  few  others.  For  the  first 
time  also,  on  such  a  roll,  we  meet  the  name  of  James 
Madison,  an  accomplished  young  political  philosopher, 
then  but  four  years  from  the  inspiring  instruction  of 
President  Witherspoon  at  Princeton.  But  while  a  few 
very  able  men  had  places  in  that  convention,  it  was,  at 
the  time,  by  some  observers  thought  to  contain  an  un 
usually  large  number  of  incompetent  persons.  Three 
days  after  the  opening  of  the  session  Landon  Carter 
wrote  to  Washington :  "  I  could  have  wished  that 
ambition  had  not  so  visibly  seized  so  much  ignorance 
all  over  the  colony,  as  it  seems  to  have  done ;  for  this 
present  convention  abounds  with  too  many  of  the  inex 
perienced  creatures  to  navigate  our  bark  on  this  danger- 


INDEPENDENCE.  169 

ous  coast ;  so  that  I  fear  the  few  skilful  pilots  who  have 
hitherto  done  tolerably  well  to  keep  her  clear  from  de 
struction,  will  not  be  able  to  conduct  her  with  common 
safety  any  longer."  ] 

The  earliest  organization  of  the  house  was,  on  the 
part  of  the  friends  of  Patrick  Henry,  made  the  occasion 
for  a  momentary  flash  ot  resentment  against  Edmund 
Pendleton,  as  the  man  who  was  believed  by  them  to 
have  been  the  guiding  mind  of  the  committee  of  safety 
in  its  long  series  of  restraints  upon  the  military  activity 
of  their  chief.  At  the  opening  of  the  convention  Pen 
dleton  was  nominated  for  its  president,  —  a  most  suit 
able  nomination,  and  one  which  under  ordinary  circum 
stances  would  have  been  carried  by  acclamation. 
Thomas  Johnson,  however,  a  staunch  follower  of  Pat 
rick  Henry,  at  once  presented  an  opposing  candidate ; 
and  although  Pendleton  was  elected,  he  was  not  elected 
without  a  contest,  or  without  this  significant  hint  that 
the  fires  of  indignation  against  him  were  still  burning 
in  the  hearts  of  a  strong  party  in  that  house  and  through 
out  the  colony. 

The  convention  lasted  just  two  months  lacking  a  day  ; 
and  in  all  the  detail  and  drudgery  of  its  business,  as 
the  journal  indicates,  Patrick  Henry  bore  a  very  large 
part.  In  the  course  of  the  session,  he  seems  to  have 
served  on  perhaps  a  majority  of  all  its  committees.  On 
the  6th  of  May,  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  com 
mittee  of  privileges  and  elections ;  on  the  7th,  of  a  com 
mittee  "  to  bring  in  an  ordinance  to  encourage  the  mak 
ing  of  salt,  saltpetre,  and  gunpowder  " ;  on  the  8th,  of 
the  committee  on  "  propositions  and  grievances " ;  on 
the  21st,  of  a  committee  "to  inquire  for  a  proper  hos- 
i  4  Am.  Arch.,  vi.  390. 


170  PATRICK  HENRY. 

pital  for  the  reception  and  accommodation  of  the  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers"  ;  on  the  22d,  of  a  committee  to 
inquire  into  the  truth  of  a  complaint  made  by  the  In 
dians  respecting  encroachments  on  their  lands  ;  on  the 
23d,  of  a  committee  to  bring  in  an  ordinance  for  aug 
menting  the  ninth  regiment,  for  enlisting  four  troops 
of  horse,  and  for  raising  men  for  the  defence  of  the 
frontier  counties  ;  on  the  4th  of  June,  of  a  committee 
to  inquire  into  the  causes  for  the  depreciation  of  paper 
money  in  the  colony,  and  into  the  rates  at  which  goods 
are  sold  at  the  public  store  ;  on  the  14th  of  June,  of  a 
committee  to  prepare  an  address  to  be  sent  by  Virginia 
to  the  Shawanese  Indians;  on  the  loth  of  June,  of  a 
committee  to  bring  in  amendments  to  the  ordinance  for 
prescribing  a  mode  of  punishment  for  the  enemies  of 
America  in  thin  colony  ;  and  on  the  22d  of  June,  of  a 
committee  to  prepare  an  ordinance  "  for  enabling  the 
present  magistrates  to  continue  the  administration  of 
justice,  and  for  settling  the  general  mode  of  proceed 
ings  in  criminal  and  other  cases."  The  journal  also 
mentions  his  frequent  activity  in  the  house  in  the  pre 
sentation  of  reports  from  some  of  these  committees  :  for 
example,  from  the  committee  on  propositions  and  griev 
ances,  on  the  16th  of  May,  on  the  22d  of  May,  and  on 
the  loth  of  June.  On  the  latter  occasion,  he  made  to 
the  house  three  detailed  reports  on  as  many  different 
topics.1 

Of  course,  the  question  overshadowing  all  others  in 
that  convention,  was  the  question  of  independence. 
General  Charles  Lee,  whose  military  duties  just  then 
detained  him  at  Williamsbnrg,  and  who  was  intently 
watching  the  currents  of  political  thought  in  all  the  col- 
1  The  journal  of  this  convention  is  in  4  Am.  Arch.,  vi.  1509-1616. 


INDEPENDENCE.  171 

onies,  assured  Washington,  in  a  letter  written  on  the 
10th  of  May,  that  "  a  noble  spirit"  possessed  the  con 
vention  ;  and  that  the  members  were  "  almost  unani 
mous  for  independence,"  the  only  disagreement  being 
"in  their  sentiments  about  the  mode."  l  That  Patrick 
Henry  was  in  favor  of  independence  hardly  needs  to  be 
mentioned ;  yet  it  does  need  to  be  mentioned  that  he 
was  among  those  who  disagreed  with  some  of  his  asso 
ciates  "  about  the  mode."  While  he  was  as  eager  and 
as  resolute  for  independence  as  any  man,  he  doubted 
whether  the  time  had  then  fully  come  for  declaring  in 
dependence.  He  thought  that  the  declaration  should 
be  so  timed  as  to  secure,  beyond  all  doubt,  two  great 
conditions  of  success,  —  first,  the  firm  union  of  the  col 
onies  themselves,  and  secondly,  the  friendship  of  foreign 
powers,  particularly  of  France  and  Spain.  For  these 
reasons,  he  would  have  had  independence  delayed  until 
a  confederation  of  the  colonies  could  be  established  by 
written  articles,  which,  he  probably  supposed,  would 
take  but  a  few  weeks  ;  and  also  until  American  agents 
could  have  time  to  negotiate  with  the  French  and  Span 
ish  courts. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  session,  General  Charles  Lee, 
who  was  hot  for  an  immediate  declaration  of  indepen 
dence,  seems  to  have  had  a  conversation  upon  the  sub 
ject  with  Patrick  Henry,  during  which  the  latter  stated 
his  reasons  for  some  postponement  of  the  measure. 
This  led  General  Lee,  on  the  following  day,  to  write  to 
Henry  a  letter  which  is  really  remarkable,  some  pas 
sages  from  which  will  help  us  the  better  to  understand 
the  public  situation,  as  well  as  Patrick  Henry's  attitude 
towards  it :  — 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  vi.  406. 


172  PATRICK  HENRY. 


,  May  7,  1776. 

u  DEAR  SIR,  —  If  I  had  not  the  highest  opinion  of  your 
character  and  liberal  way  of  thinking,  I  should  not  ven 
ture  to  address  myself  to  you.  And  if  I  were  not  equally 
persuaded  of  the  great  weight  and  influence  which  the 
transcendent  abilities  you  possess  must  naturally  con 
fer,  I  should  not  give  myself  the  trouble  of  writing,  nor 
you  the  trouble  of  reading  this  long  letter.  Since  our 
conversation  yesterday,  my  thoughts  have  been  solely 
employed  on  the  great  question,  whether  independence 
ought  or  ought  not  to  be  immediately  declared.  Having 
weighed  the  argument  on  both  sides,  I  am  clearly  of 
the  opinion  that  we  must,  as  we  value  the  liberties  of 
America,  or  even  her  existence,  without  a  moment's 
delay  declare  for  independence.  .  .  .  The  objection  you 
made  yesterday,  if  I  understood  you  rightly,  to  an  im 
mediate  declaration,  was  by  many  degrees  the  most 
specious,  indeed,  it  is  the  only  tolerable,  one  that  I  have 
yet  heard.  You  say,  and  with  great  justice,  that  we 
ought  previously  to  have  felt  the  pulse  of  France  and 
Spain.  I  more  than  believe,  I  am  almost  confident, 
that  it  has  been  done.  .  .  .  But  admitting  that  we  are 
utter  strangers  to  their  sentiments  on  the  subject,  and 
that  we  run  some  risk  of  this  declaration  being  coldly 
received  by  these  powers,  such  is  our  situation  that  the 
risk  must  be  ventured. 

"  On  one  side  there  are  the  most  probable  chances  of 
our  success,  founded  on  the  certain  advantages  which 
must  manifest  themselves  to  French  understandings  by 
a  treaty  of  alliance  with  America.  .  .  .  The  superior 
commerce  and  marine  force  of  England  were  evidently 
established  on  the  monopoly  of  her  American  trade. 
The  inferiority  of  France,  in  these  two  capital  points, 


INDEPENDENCE.  173 

consequently  had  its  source  in  the  same  origin.  Any 
deduction  from  this  monopoly  must  bring  down  her 
rival  in  proportion  to  this  deduction.  The  French  are 
and  always  have  been  sensible  of  these  great  truths.  .  .  . 
But  allowing  that  there  can  be  no  certainty,  but  mere 
chances,  in  our  favor,  I  do  insist  upon  it  that  these 
chances  render  it  our  duty  to  adopt  the  measure,  as,  by 
procrastination,  our  ruin  is  inevitable.  Should  it  now 
be  determined  to  wait  the  result  of  a  previous  formal 
negotiation  with  France,  a  whole  year  must  pass  over 
our  heads  before  we  can  be  acquainted  with  the  result. 
In  the  mean  time,  we  are  to  struggle  through  a  cam 
paign,  without  arms,  ammunition,  or  any  one  necessary 
of  war.  Disgrace  and  defeat  will  infallibly  ensue  ;  the 
soldiers  and  officers  will  become  so  disappointed  that 
they  will  abandon  their  colors,  and  probably  never  be 
persuaded  to  make  another  effort. 

"  But  there  is  another  consideration  still  more  cogent. 
I  can  assure  you  that  the  spirit  of  the  people  cries  out 
for  this  declaration  ;  the  military,  in  particular,  men 
and  officers,  are  outrageous  on  the  subject ;  and  a  man 
of  your  excellent  discernment  need  not  be  told  how 
dangerous  it  would  be,  in  our  present  circumstances,  to 
dally  with  the  spirit,  or  disappoint  the  expectations,  of 
the  bulk  of  the  people.  May  not  despair,  anarchy,  and 
final  submission  be  the  bitter  fruits  ?  I  am  firmly  per 
suaded  that  they  will ;  and,  in  this  persuasion,  I  most 
devoutly  pray  that  you  may  riot  merely  recommend,  but 
positively  lay  injunctions  on,  your  servants  in  congress 
to  embrace  a  measure  so  necessary  to  our  salvation. 
"  Yours,  most  sincerely, 

"  CHARLES  LEE."  1 

1   5  Am.  Arch.,  i.  95-97.    Campbell,  in  his  History  of  Virginia, 


174  PATRICK  HENRY. 

Just  eight  days  after  that  letter  was  written,  the  Vir 
ginia  convention  took  what  may,  at  first  glance,  seem  to 
be  the  precise  action  therein  described  as  necessary  ; 
and  moreover,  they  did  so  under  the  influence,  in  part, 
of  Patrick  Henry's  powerful  advocacy  of  it.  On  the 
15th  of  May,  after  considerable  debate,  one  hundred 
and  twelve  members  being  present,  the  convention 
unanimously  resolved,  "That  the  delegates  appointed 
to  represent  this  colony  in  general  congress  be  instruct 
ed  to  propose  to  that  respectable  body  to  declare  the 
United  Colonies  free  and  independent  states,  absolved 
from  all  allegiance  to,  or  dependence  upon,  the  crown 
or  parliament  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  that  they  give  the 
assent  of  this  colony  to  such  declaration,  and  to  what 
ever  measures  may  be  thought  proper  and  necessary  by 
the  congress  for  forming  foreign  alliances  and  a  confed 
eration  of  the  colonies,  at  such  time,  and  in  the  manner, 
as  to  them  shall  seem  best :  provided,  that  the  power  of 
forming  government  for,  and  the  regulations  of  the  in 
ternal  concerns  of,  each  colony,  be  left  to  the  respective 
colonial  legislatures."  1 

On  the  testimony  of  Edmund  Randolph,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  convention,  it  is  now  known  that  this 
momentous  resolution  "  was  drawn  by  Pendleton,  was 
offered  in  convention  by  Nelson,  and  was  advocated  on 
the  floor  by  Henry." 2  Any  one  who  will  carefully 
study  it,  however,  will  discover  that  this  resolution  was 
the  result  of  a  compromise ;  and  especially,  that  it  is  so 
framed  as  to  meet  Patrick  Henry's  views,  at  least  to 

645,  646,  commits  a  rather  absurd  error  in  attributing  this  letter  to 
Thomas  Nelson,  Jr. 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  vi.  1524. 

2  Randolph's  address  at  the  funeral  of  Pendleton,  in  Va.  Gazette  for 
2  Nov.  1803,  and  cited  by  Grigsby,  Va.  Conv.  of  1776,  203,  204. 


INDEPENDENCE.  175 

the  extent  of  avoiding  the  demand  for  an  immediate 
declaration,  and  of  leaving  it  to  congress  to  determine 
the  time  and  manner  of  making  it.  Accordingly,  in 
letters  of  his,  written  five  days  afterward  to  his  most 
intimate  friends  in  congress,  we  see  that  his  mind  was 
still  full  of  anxiety  about  the  two  great  prerequisites,  — 
a  certified  union  among  the  colonies,  and  a  friendly  ar 
rangement  with  France.  "  Ere  this  reaches  you,"  he 
wrote  to  Richard  Henry  Lee,  "  our  resolution  for  sepa 
rating  from  Britain  will  be  handed  you  by  Colonel 
Nelson.  Your  sentiments  as  to  the  necessary  progress 
of  this  great  affair  correspond  with  mine.  For  may  not 
France,  ignorant  of  the  great  advantages  to  her  commerce 
we  intend  to  offer,  and  of  the  permanency  of  that  sepa 
ration  which  is  to  take  place,  be  allured  by  the  partition 
you  mention  ?  To  anticipate,  therefore,  the  efforts  of 
the  enemy  by  sending  instantly  American  ambassadors 
to  France,  seems  to  me  absolutely  necessary.  Delay 
may  bring  on  us  total  ruin.  But  is  not  a  confederacy 
of  our  states  previously  necessary  ?  "  l 

On  the  same  day,  he  wrote,  also,  a  letter  to  John 
Adams,  in  which  he  developed  still  more  vigorously  his 
views  as  to  the  true  order  in  which  the  three  great 
measures,  —  confederation,  foreign  alliances,  and  inde 
pendence,  —  should  be  dealt  with  :  "  Before  this  reaches 
you,  the  resolution  for  finally  separating  from  Britain 
will  be  handed  to  congress  by  Colonel  Nelson.  I  put  up 
with  it  in  the  present  form  for  the  sake  of  unanimity. 
'T  is  not  quite  so  pointed  as  I  could  wish.  Excuse  me 
for  telling  you  of  what  I  think  of  immense  importance ; 
'tis  to  anticipate  the  enemy  at  the  French  court.  The 


i 
i47,  648 


8.  Lit.  Messenger  for  1842  ;  theuce  given  in  Campbell,  Hist.  Va.. 
648. 


176  PATRICK  HENRY. 

half  of  our  continent  offered  to  France,  may  induce  her 
to  aid  our  destruction,  which  she  certainly  has  the  power 
to  accomplish.  I  know  the  free  trade  with  all  the 
states  would  be  more  beneficial  to  her  than  any  territo 
rial  possessions  she  might  acquire.  But  pressed,  allured, 
as  she  will  be,  —  but,  above  all,  ignorant  of  the  great 
thing  we  mean  to  offer,  —  may  we  not  lose  her  ?  The 
consequence  is  dreadful.  Excuse  me  again.  The  con 
federacy  :  —  that  must  precede  an  open  declaration  of 
independency  and  foreign  alliances.  "Would  it  not  be 
sufficient  to  confine  it,  for  the  present,  to  the  objects  of 
offensive  and  defensive  nature,  and  a  guaranty  of  the  re 
spective  colonial  rights?  If  a  minute  arrangement  of 
things  is  attempted,  such  as  equal  representation,  etc., 
etc.,  you  may  split  and  divide  ;  certainly  will  delay  the. 
French  alliance,  which  with  me  is  everything."  J 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  many  of  the  people  of  Vir 
ginia  had  received  with  enthusiastic  approval  the  news 
of  the  great  step  taken  by  their  convention  on  the 
15th  of  May.  Thus  "  on  the  day  following,"  says  the 
"Virginia  Gazette,"  published  at  Williamsburg,  "the 
troops  in  this  city,  with  the  train  of  artillery,  were  drawn 
up  and  went  through  their  firings  and  various  other  mili 
tary  manoeuvres,  with  the  greatest  exactness;  a  conti 
nental  union  flag  was  displayed  upon  the  capitol ;  and  in 
the  evening  many  of  the  inhabitants  illuminated  their 
houses." 2  Moreover,  the  great  step  taken  by  the  Virginia 
convention,  on  the  day  just  mentioned,  committed  that 
body  to  the  duty  of  taking  at  once  certain  other  steps  of 
supreme  importance.  They  were  about  to  cast  off  the 
government  of  Great  Britain  :  it  was  necessary  for  them, 

1  Works  of  John  Adams,  iv.  201. 
a  4  Am.  Arch.,  vi.  462. 


INDEPENDENCE.  Ill 

therefore,  to  provide  some  government  to  be  put  in  the 
place  of  it.  Accordingly,  in  the  very  same  hour  in 
which  they  instructed  their  delegates  in  congress  to 
propose  a  declaration  of  independence,  they  likewise 
resolved,  "  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  prepare  a 
declaration  of  rights,  and  such  a  plan  of  government  as 
will  be  most  likely  to  maintain  peace  and  order  in  this 
colony,  and  secure  substantial  and  equal  liberty  to  the 
people." l 

Of  this  committee,  Patrick  Henry  was  a  member ; 
and  with  him  were  associated  Archibald  Gary,  Henry 
Lee,  Nicholas,  Edmund  Randolph,  Bland,  Dudley 
Digges,  Paul  Carrington,  Mann  Page,  Madison,  George 
Mason,  and  others.  The  two  tasks  before  the  com 
mittee —  that  of  drafting  a  statement  of  rights,  and 
that  of  drafting  a  constitution  for  the  new  state  of  Vir 
ginia  —  must  have  pressed  heavily  upon  its  leading 
members.  In  the  work  of  creating  a  new  state  govern 
ment,  Virginia  was  somewhat  in  advance  of  the  other 
colonies ;  and  for  this  reason,  as  well  as  on  account 
of  its  general  preeminence  among  the  colonies,  the 
course  which  it  should  take  in  this  crisis  was  watched 
with  extraordinary  attention.  John  Adams  said,  at  the 
time,  "  we  all  look  up  to  Virginia  for  examples."  2  Be 
sides,  in  Virginia  itself,  as  well  as  in  the  other  colonies, 
there  was  an  unsettled  question  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
state  governments  which  were  then  to  be  instituted. 
Should  they  be  strongly  aristocratic  and  conservative, 
with  a  possible  place  left  for  the  monarchical  feature ; 
or  should  the  popular  elements  in  each  colony  be  more 
largely  recognized,  and  a  decidedly  democratic  char- 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  vi.  1524. 

2  Works  of  John  Adams,  ix.  387. 


178  PATRICK  HENRY. 

acter  given  to  these  new  constitutions  ?  On  this  ques 
tion,  two  strong  parties  existed  in  Virginia.  In  the 
first  place,  there  were  the  old  aristocratic  families,  and 
those  who  sympathized  with  them.  These  people,  nu 
merous,  rich,  cultivated,  influential,  in  objecting  to  the 
unfair  encroachments  of  British  authority,  had  by  no 
means  intended  to  object  to  the  nature  of  the  British 
constitution,  and  would  have  been  pleased  to  see  that 
constitution,  in  all  its  essential  features,  retained  in 
Virginia.  This  party  was  led  by  such  men  as  Robert 
Carter  Nicholas,  Carter  Braxton,  and  Edmund  Peudle- 
ton.  In  the  second  place,  there  were  the  democrats, 
the  reformers,  the  radicals,  —  who  were  inclined  to  take 
the  opportunity  furnished  by  Virginia's  rejection  of 
British  authority,  as  the  occasion  for  rejecting,  within 
the  new  state  of  Virginia,  all  the  aristocratic  and 
monarchical  features  of  the  British  constitution  itself. 
This  party  was  led  by  such  men  as  Patrick  Henry, 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  George 
Mason.  Which  party  was  to  succeed  in  stamping  its 
impress  the  more  strongly  on  the  new  plan  for  govern 
ment  in  Virginia? 

Furthermore,  it  is  important  to  observe  that,  on  this 
very  question  then  at  issue  in  Virginia,  two  pamphlets, 
taking  opposite  sides,  were,  just  at  that  moment,  attract 
ing  the  notice  of  Virginians,  —  both  pamphlets  being 
noble  in  tone,  of  considerable  learning,  very  suggestive, 
and  very  well  expressed.  The  first,  entitled  "  Thoughts 
on  Government,"  though  issued  anonymously,  was  soon 
known  to  be  by  John  Adams.  It* advocated  the  forma 
tion  of  state  constitutions  on  the  democratic  model ;  a 
lower  house  elected  for  a  single  year  by  the  people ; 
this  house  to  elect  an  upper  house  of  twenty  or  thirty 


INDEPENDENCE.  179 

members,  who  were  to  have  a  negative  on  the  lower 
house,  and  to  serve,  likewise,  for  a  single  year  ;  these 
two  houses  to  elect  a  governor,  who  was  to  have  a 
negative  on  them  both,  and  whose  term  of  office  should 
also  end  with  the  year  ;  while  the  judges,  and  all  other 
officers,  civil  or  military,  were  either  to  be  appointed 
by  the  governor  with  the  advice  of  the  upper  house,  or 
to  be  chosen  directly  by  the  two  houses  themselves.1 
The  second  pamphlet,  which  was  in  part  a  reply  to  the 
first,  was  entitled  "  Address  to  the  Convention  of  the 
Colony  and  Ancient  Dominion  of  Virginia,  on  the  sub 
ject  of  Government  in  general,  and  recommending  a  par 
ticular  form  to  their  consideration."  It  purported  to  be 
by  "  A  Native  of  the  Colony."  Although  the  pamphlet 
was  sent  into  Virginia  under  strong  recommendations 
from  Carter  Braxton,  one  of  the  Virginian  delegates  in 
congress,  the  authorship  was  then  unknown  to  the  public. 
It  advocated  the  formation  of  state  constitutions  on  a 
model  far  less  democratic: 


members  of  which  were  to  be  elected  for  three  years  by 
the  people  ;  secondly,  an  upper  house  of  twenty  four 
members,  to  be  elected  for  life  by  the  lower  house  ; 
thirdly,  a  governor,  to  be  elected  for  life  by  the  lower 
house  ;  fourthly,  all  judges,  all  military  officers,  and  all 
inferior  civil  ones,  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor.2 

Such  was  the  question  over  which  the  members  of 
the  committee,  appointed  on  the  15th  of  May,  must  soon 
have  come  into  sharp  conflict.  At  its  earliest  meetings, 
apparently,  Henry  found  the  aristocratic  tendencies  of 
some  of  his  associates  so  strong  as  to  give  him  con 
siderable  uneasiness  ;  and  by  his  letter  to  John  Adams, 

i      l  John  Adams's  pamphlet  is  given  in  his  Works,  iv.  189-200. 
2  The  pamphlet  is  given  in  4  Am.  Arch.,  vi.  748-754. 


180  PATRICK  HENRY. 

written  on  the  20th  of  the  month,  we  may  see  that  he 
was  then  complaining  of  the  lack  of  any  associate  of 
adequate  ability  on  his  own  side  of  the  question.  When 
we  remember,  however,  that  both  James  Madison  and 
George  Mason  were  members  of  that  committee,  we 
can  but  read  Patrick  Henry's  words  with  some  astonish 
ment.1  The  explanation  is  probably  to  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  Madison  was  not  placed  on  the  committee 
until  the  16th,  and,  being  very  young  and  very  unob 
trusive,  did  riot  at  first  make  his  true  weight  felt ; 
while  Mason  was  not  placed  on  the  committee  until 
the  working  day  just  before  Henry's  letter  was  written, 
and  very  likely  had  not  then  met  with  it,  and  may  not, 
at  the  moment,  have  been  remembered  by  Henry  as  a 
member  of  it.  At  any  rate,  this  is  the  way  in  which 
our  eager  Virginian  democrat,  in  that  moment  of  anx 
ious  conflict  over  the  form  of  the  future  government  of 
his  state,  poured  out  his  anxieties  to  his  two  most  con 
genial  political  friends  in  congress.  To  Richard  Henry 
Lee  he  wrote :  "  The  grand  work  of  forming  a  con 
stitution  for  Virginia  is  now  before  the  convention, 
where  your  love  of  equal  liberty  and  your  skill  in  pub 
lic  counsels  might  so  eminently  serve  the  cause  of  your 
country.  Perhaps  I  'm  mistaken,  but  I  fear  too  great  a 
bias  to  aristocracy  prevails  among  the  opulent.  I  own 
myself  a  democratic  on  the  plan  of  our  admired  friend, 
J.  Adams,  whose  pamphlet  I  read  with  great  pleasure. 
A  performance  from  Philadelphia  is  just  come  here, 

ushered  in,  I  'm  told,  by   a  colleague  of  yours,  B » 

and  greatly  recommended  by  him.  I  don't  like  it.  Is 
the  author  a  whig  ?  One  or  two  expressions  in  the 

1  See  the  unfavorable  comment  of  Rives,  Life  and  Times  of  Modi- 
ton,  i.  147,  148. 


INDEPENDENCE.  181 

book  make  "me  ask.  I  wish  to  divide  you,  and  have 
you  here  to  animate,  by  your  manly  eloquence,  the 
sometimes  drooping  spirits  of  our  country,  and  in  con 
gress  to  be  the  ornament  of  your  native  country,  and 
the  vigilant,  determined  foe  of  tyranny.  To  give  you 
colleagues  of  kindred  sentiments,  is  my  wish.  I  doubt 
you  have  them  not  at  present.  A  confidential  account 
of  the  matter  to  Colonel  Tom,1  desiring  him  to  use  it 
according  to  his  discretion,  might  greatly  serve  the 
public  and  vindicate  Virginia  from  suspicions.  Vigor, 
animation,  and  all  the  powers  of  mind  and  body  must 
now  be  summoned  and  collected  together  into  one 
grand  effort.  Moderation,  falsely  so  called,  hath  nearly 
brought  on  us  final  ruin.  And  to  see  those,  who  have  so 
fatally  advised  us,  still  guiding,  or  at  least  sharing,  our 
public  counsels,  alarms  me."  2 

On  the  same  day,  he  wrote  as  follows  to  John 
Adams  :  — 

"  WILLIAM SBURG,  May  20,  1776. 

"Mr  DEAR  SIR, —  Your  favor,  with  the  pamphlet, 
came  safe  to  hand.  I  am  exceedingly  obliged  to  you 
for  it;  and  I  am  not  without  hopes  it  may  produce 
good  here,  where  there  is  among  most  of  our  opulent 
families  a  strong  bias  to  aristocracy.  I  tell  my  friends 
you  are  the  author.  Upon  that  supposition,  I  have  two 
reasons  for  liking  the  book.  The  sentiments  are  pre 
cisely  the  same  I  have  long  since  taken  up,  and  they 
come  recommended  by  you.  Go  on,  my  dear  friend, 
to  assail  the  strongholds  of  tyranny  ;  and  in  whatever 
form  oppression  may  be  found,  may  those  talents  and 

1  Probably  Thomas  Ludwell  Lee. 

2  S.  Lit.  Messenger  for  1842.     Reprinted  in  Campbell,  Hist.  Va.t 
647. 


182  PATRICK   HENRY. 

that  firmness,  which  have  achieved  so  much  for  America, 
be  pointed  against  it.  ... 

*k  Our  convention -is  now  employed  in  the  great  work 
of  forming  a  constitution.  My  most  esteemed  repub 
lican  form  has  many  and  powerful  enemies.  A  silly 
thing,  published  in  Philadelphia,  by  a  native  of  Vir 
ginia,  has  just  made  its  appearance  here,  strongly 
recommended,  't  is  said,  by  one  of  our  delegates  now 
with  you,  —  Braxton.  His  reasonings  upon  and  dis* 
tiuction  between  private  and  public  virtue,  are  weak, 
shallow,  evasive,  and  the  whole  performance  an  affront 
and  disgrace  to  this  country  ;  and.  by  one  expression,  I 
suspect  his  whiggism. 

"  Our  session  will  be  very  long,  during  which  I  can 
not  count  upon  one  coadjutor  of  talents  equal  to  the 
task.  Would  to  God  you  and  your  Sam  Adams  were 
here  !  It  shall  be  my  incessant  study  so  to  form  our 
portrait  of  government  that  a  kindred  with  New  Eng 
land  may  be  discerned  in  it ;  and  if  all  your  excellences 
cannot  be  preserved,  yet  I  hope  to  retain  so  much  of 
the  likeness,  that  posterity  shall  pronounce  us  descended 
from  the  same  stock.  I  shall  think  perfection  is  ob 
tained,  if  we  have  your  approbation. 

"  I  am  forced  to  conclude  ;  but  first,  let  me  beg  to  be 
presented  to  my  ever-esteemed  S.  Adams.  Adieu,  my 
dear  sir ;  may  God  preserve  you,  and  give  you  every 
good  thing. 

"  P.  HENRY,  JR. 

"  P.  S.    Will  you  and  S.  A.  now  and  then  write  ?  "  1 

To  this  hearty  and  even  brotherly  letter  John  Adams 
wrote  from   Philadelphia,  on   the  3d  of  June,  a  fitting 
i   Works  of  John  Adams,  iv.  201,  202. 


INDEPENDENCE.  183 

reply,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said,  with  respect  to 
Henry's  labors  in  making  a  constitution  for  Virginia: 
"  The  subject  is  of  infinite  moment,  and  perhaps  more 
than  adequate  to  the  abilities  of  any  man  in  America. 
I  know  of  none  so  competent  to  the  task  as  the  author 
of  the  first  Virginia  resolutions  against  the  Stamp  Act, 
who  will  have  the  glory  with  posterity  of  beginning 
and  concluding  this  great  revolution.  Happy  Virginia, 
whose  constitution  is  to  be  framed  by  so  masterly  a 
builder!"  Then,  with  respect  to  the  aristocratic  fea 
tures  in  the  constitution,  as  proposed  by  "  A  Native  of 
the  Colony,"  John  Adams  exclaims :  "  The  dons,  the 
bashaws,  the  grandees,  the  patricians,  the  sachems,  the 
nabobs,  call  them  by  what  name  you  please,  sigh,  and 
groan,  and  fret,  and  sometimes  stamp,  and  foam,  and 
curse,  but  all  in  vain.  The  decree  is  gone  forth,  and  it 
cannot  be  recalled,  that  a  more  equal  liberty  than  has 
prevailed  in  other  parts  of  the  earth,  must  be  estab 
lished  in  America.  That  exuberance  of  pride  which 
has  produced  an  insolent  domination  in  a  few,  a  very 
few,  opulent,  monopolizing  families,  will  be  brought 
down  nearer  to  the  confines  of  reason  and  moderation 
than  they  have  been  used  to.  ...  I  shall  ever  be  happy 
in  receiving  your  advice  by  letter,  until  I  can  be  more 
completely  so  in  seeing  you  here  in  person,  which  I 
hope  will  be  soon."  x 

On  the  12th  of  June,  the  convention  adopted  without 
a  dissenting  voice  its  celebrated  "  declaration  of  rights," 
a  compact,  luminous,  and  powerful  statement,  in  sixteen 
articles,  of  those  great  fundamental  rights  that  were 
henceforth  to  be  "  the  basis  and  foundation  of  govern 
ment  "  in  Virginia,  and  were  to  stamp  their  character 
1  Works  of  John  Adams,  ix.  386-388. 


184  PATRICK  HENRY. 

upon  that  constitution  on  which  the  committee  were 
even  then  engaged.  Perhaps  no  political  document  of 
that  time  is  more  worthy  of  study  in  connection  with 
the  genesis,  not  only  of  our  state  constitutions,  but  of 
that  of  the  nation  likewise.  It  is  now  known  that,  in 
the  original  draft,  the  first  fourteen  articles  were  wriU 
ten  by  George  Mason,  and  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
by  Patrick  Henry.  The  fifteenth  article  was  in  these 
words  :  "  That  no  free  government,  or  the  blessings  of 
liberty,  can  be  preserved  to  any  people  but  by  a  firm 
adherence  to  justice,  moderation,  temperance,  frugality, 
and  virtue,  and  by  frequent  recurrence  to  fundamental 
principles."  The  sixteenth  article  is  an  assertion  of 
the  doctrine  of  religious  liberty,  —  the  first  time  that  it 
was  ever  asserted  by  authority  in  Virginia.  The  orig 
inal  draft,  ih  which  Henry  followed  very  closely  the 
language  used  on  that  subject  by  the  Independents  in 
the  Assembly  of  Westminster,  stood  as  follows  :  "  That 
religion,  or  the  duty  we  owe  our  Creator,  and  the  man 
ner  of  discharging  it,  can  be  directed  only  by  reason 
and  conviction,  and  not  by  force  or  violence ;  and, 
therefore,  that  all  men  should  enjoy  the  fullest  tolera 
tion  in  the  exercise  of  religion,  according  to  the  dictates 
of  conscience,  unpunished  and  unrestrained  by  the  mag 
istrate,  unless,  under  color  of  religion,  any  man  disturb 
the  peace,  the  happiness,  or  the  safety  of  society  ;  and 
that  it  is  the  mutual  duty  of  all  to  practise  Christian 
forbearance,  love,  and  charity  towards  each  other."  1 

The  historic  significance  of  this  stately  assertion  of 
religious  liberty  in  Virginia  can   be  felt  only  by  those 
who  remember  that,  at  that  time,  the  church  of  Eng 
land  was  the  established  church  of  Virginia,  and  that 
1  Edmund  Randolph,  MS.  Hist.  Vn. 


INDEPENDENCE.  185 

the  laws  of  Virginia  then  prohibited  the  exercise  within 
the  colony  of  every  form  of  religious  dissent,  and  even 
authorized  its  suppression  by  force.  At  the  very  mo 
ment,  probably,  when  the  committee  were  engaged  in 
considering  the  tremendous  innovation  contained  in 
Patrick  Henry's  article,  "  sundry  persons  of  the  Bap 
tist  church  in  the  county  of  Prince  William  "  were 
putting  their  names  to  a  petition  earnestly  imploring 
the  convention,  "  That  they  be  allowed  to  worship  God 
in  their  own  way,  without  interruption ;  that  they  be 
permitted  to  maintain  their  own  ministers  and  none 
others  ;  that  they  may  be  married,  buried,  and  the  like, 
without  paying  the  clergy  of  other  denominations ; " 
and  that,  by  the  concession  to  them  of  such  religious 
freedom,  they  be  enabled  to  "  unite  with  their  brethren, 
and  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability  promote  the  common 
cause "  of  political  freedom.1  Of  course  the  adoption 
of  Patrick  Henry's  article  virtually  carried  with  it 
every  privilege  which  these  people  asked  for.  He  was 
himself  a  devout  communicant  of  the  established  church 
of  Virginia  ;  and  thus,  the  first  great  legislative  act  for 
the  reform  of  the  civil  constitution  of  that  church,  and 
for  its  deliverance  from  the  traditional  duty  and  curse 
of  persecution,  was  an  act  which  came  from  within 
the  church  itself. 

On  Monday,  the  24th  of  June,  the  committee,  through 
Archibald  Gary,  submitted  to  the  convention  their  plan 
of  a  constitution  for  the  new  state  of  Virginia  ;  and  on 
Saturday,  the  29th  of  June,  this  plan  passed  its  third 
reading,  and  was  unanimously  adopted.  A  glance  at 
the  document  will  show  that  in  the  sharp  struggle  be 
tween  the  aristocratic  and  the  democratic  forces  in  the 
1  4  Am.  Arch.,  vi.  1582. 


186  PATRICK  HENRY. 

convention,  the  latter  had  signally  triumphed.  It  pro 
vided  for  a  lower  house  of  assembly,  whose  members 
were  to  be  elected  annually  by  the  people,  in  the  pro 
portion  of  two  members  from  each  county  ;  for  an  upper 
house  of  assembly  to  consist  of  twenty-four  members, 
who  were  to  be  elected  annually  by  the  people,  in  the 
proportion  of  one  member  from  each  of  the  sena 
torial  districts  into  which  the  several  counties  should 
be  grouped  ;  for  a  governor,  to  be  elected  annually  by 
joint  ballot  of  both  houses,  and  not  to  "continue  in  that 
office  longer  than  three  years  successively,"  nor  then  to 
be  eligible  again  for  the  office  until  after  the  lapse  of 
four  years  from  the  close  of  his  previous  term  ;  for  a 
privy  council  of  eight  members,  for  delegates  in  con 
gress,  and  for  judges  in  the  several  courts,  all  to  be 
elected  by  joint  ballot  of  the  two  houses  ;  for  justices 
of  the  peace  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor  and  the 
privy  council ;  and,  finally,  for  an  immediate  election, 
by  the  convention  itself,  of  a  governor,  and  a  privy 
council,  and  such  other  officers  as  might  be  necessary 
for  the  introduction  of  the  new  government.1 

In  accordance  with  the  last  provision  of  this  constitu 
tion,  the  convention  at  once  proceeded  to  cast  their  bal 
lots  for  governor,  with  the  following  result :  — 

For  Patrick  Henry 60 

For  Thomas  Nelson     .....       45 

For  John  Page        ......     1 

By  resolution,  Patrick  Henry  was  then  formally  de 
clared  to  be  the  governor  of  the  commonwealth  of  Vir 
ginia,  to  continue  in  office  until  the  close  of  that  session 
of  the  assembly  which  should  be  held  after  the  end  of 
the  following  March. 

i  Am.  Arch.,  vi.  1598-1601,  note. 


INDEPENDENCE.  187 

On  the  same  day  on  which  this  action  was  taken,  he 
wrote,  in  reply  to  the  official  notice  of  his  election,  the 
following  letter  of  acceptance,  —  a  graceful,  manly,  and 
touching  composition  :  — 

"  TO    THE    HONORABLE    THE    PRESIDENT    AND    HOUSE 
OF    CONVENTION. 

"  GENTLEMEN,  —  The  vote  of  this  day,  appointing  me 
governor  of  this  commonwealth,  has  been  notified  to 
me,  in  the  most  polite  and  obliging  manner,  by  George 
Mason,  Henry  Lee,  Dudley  Digges,  John  Blair,  and 
Bartholomew  Dandridge,  Esquires. 

"A  sense  of  the  high  and  unmerited  honor  conferred 
upon  me  by  the  convention  fills  my  heart  with  grati 
tude,  which  I  trust  my  whole  life  will  manifest.  I  take 
this  earliest  opportunity  to  express  my  thanks,  which  I 
wish  to  convey  to  you,  gentlemen,  in  the  strongest 
terms  of  acknowledgment. 

"  When  I  reflect  that  the  tyranny  of  the  British  king 
and  parliament  hath  kindled  a  formidable  war,  now  rag 
ing  throughout  the  wide-extended  continent,  and  in  the 
operations  of  which  this  commonwealth  must  bear  so 
great  a  part,  and  that  from  the  events  of  this  war  the 
lasting  happiness  or  misery  of  a  great  proportion  of  the 
human  species  will  finally  result ;  that,  in  order  to  pre 
serve  this  commonwealth  from  anarchy,  and  its  attend 
ant  ruin,  and  to  give  vigor  to  our  councils  and  effect  to 
all  our  measures,  government  hath  been  necessarily  as 
sumed  and  new  modelled ;  that  it  is  exposed  to  number 
less  hazards  and  perils  in  its  infantine  state  ;  that  it  can 
never  attain  to  maturity  or  ripen  into  firmness,  unless 
it  is  guarded  by  affectionate  assiduity,  and  managed  by 
great  abilities,  —  I  lament  my  want  of  talents ;  I  feel 


188  PATRICK  HENRY. 

my  mind  filled  with  anxiety  and  uneasiness  to  find  my 
self  so  unequal  to  the  duties  of  that  important  station  to 
which  I  am  called  by  favor  of  my  fellow-citizens  at  this 
truly  critical  conjuncture.  The  errors  of  my  conduct 
shall  be  atoned  for,  so  far  as  I  am  able,  by  unwearied 
endeavors  to  secure  the  freedom  arid  happiness  of  our 
common  country. 

"  I  shall  enter  upon  the  duties  of  my  office  whenever 
you,  gentlemen,  shall  be  pleased  to  direct,  relying  upon 
the  known  wisdom  and  virtue  of  your  honorable  house 
to  supply  my  defects,  and  to  give  permanency  and  suc 
cess  to  that  system  of  government  which  you  have 
formed,  and  which  is  so  wisely  calculated  to  secure  equal 
liberty,  and  advance  human  happiness. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentlemen,  your  most  obe 
dient  and  very  humble  servant, 

"  P.  HENRY,  JR. 

"  WILUAMSBURO,  June  29,  1776."  : 

1  4  Am.  Arch.,  vi.  1129,  1130. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FIRST    GOVERNOR    OF    THE    STATE    OF   VIRGINIA. 

ON  Friday,  the  5th  of  July,  1776,  Patrick  Henry  / 
took  the  oath  of  office,1  and  entered  upon  his  duties  j\ 
as  governor  of  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia.  The 
salary  attached  to  the  position  was  fixed  at  one  thou 
sand  pounds  sterling  for  the  year  ;  and  the  governor 
was  invited  to  take  up  his  residence  in  the  palace 
at  Williamsburg.  No  one  had  resided  in  the  palace 
since  Lord  Dunmore  had  fled  from  it ;  and  the  people 
of  Virginia  could  hardly  fail  to  note  the  poetic  retribu 
tion  whereby  the  very  man  whom,  fourteen  months  be 
fore,  Lord  Dunmore  had  contemptuously  denounced  as 
"  a  certain  Patrick  Henry  of  Hanover  County,"  should 
now  become  Lord  Dunmore's  immediate  successor  in 
that  mansion  of  state,  and  should  be  able,  if  he  chose, 
to  write  proclamations  against  Lord  Dunmore  upon  the 
same  desk  on  which  Lord  Dunmore  had  so  recently 
written  the  proclamation  against  himself. 

Among  the  first  to  bring  their  congratulations  to  the 
new  governor,  were  his  devoted  friends,  the  first  and 
second  regiments  of  Virginia,  who  told  him  that  they 
viewed  "  with  the  sincerest  sentiments  of  respect  and 
joy  "  his  accession  to  the  highest  office  in  the  state,  and 
who  gave  to  him  likewise  this  affectionate  assurance : 
"  our  hearts  are  willing,  and  arms  ready,  to  maintain 
i  Burk,  Hist.  Va.,  iv.  154. 


190  PATRICK  HENRY. 

your  authority  as  chief  magistrate."  l  On  the  29th  of 
July,  the  erratic  General  Charles  Lee,  who  was  then  in 
Charleston,  sent  011  his  congratulations  in  a  letter  amus 
ing  for  its  tart  cordiality  and  its  peppery  playfulness  :  "  I 
most  sincerely  congratulate  you  on  the  noble  conduct  of 
your  countrymen ;  and  I  congratulate  your  country  on 
having  citizens  deserving  of  the  high  honor  to  which  you 
are  exalted.  For  the  being  elected  to  the  first  magis 
tracy  of  a  free  people  is  certainly  the  pinnacle  of  human 
glory ;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  they  could  not  have 
made  a  happier  choice.  Will  you  excuse  me,  —  but  I 
am  myself  so  extremely  democratical,  that  I  think  it 
a  fault  in  your  constitution  that  the  governor  should 
be  eligible  for  three  years  successively.  It  appears 
to  me  that  a  government  of  three  years  may  furnish  an 
opportunity  of  acquiring  a  very  dangerous  influence. 
But  this  is  not  the  worst.  ...  A  man  who  is  fond  of 
office,  and  has  his  eye  upon  reelection,  will  be  courting 
favor  and  popularity  at  the  expense  of  his  duty.  .  .  . 
There  is  a  barbarism  crept  in  among  us  that  extremely 
shocks  me  :  I  mean  those  tinsel  epithets  with  which  (I 
come  in  for  my  share)  we  are  so  beplastered,  —  «  his 
excellency,'  and  *  his  honor,'  *  the  honorable  president  of 
the  honorable  congress,'  or  i  the  honorable  convention.' 
This  fulsome,  nauseating  cant  may  be  well  enough 
adapted  to  barbarous  monarchies,  or  to  gratify  the  adul 
terated  pride  of  the  '  magnified  '  in  pompous  aristocra 
cies  ;  but  in  a  great,  free,  manly,  equal  commonwealth, 
it  is  quite  abominable.  For  my  own  part,  I  would  as 
lief  they  would  put  ratsbane  in  my  mouth  as  the  *  ex 
cellency  '  with  which  I  am  daily  crammed.  How  much 
more  true  dignity  was' there  in  the  simplicity  of  address 
i  4  Am.  Arcft.,  vi.  1602,  1603,  note. 


FIRST   GOVERNOR  OF  STATE   OF  VIRGINIA.     191 

amongst  the  Romans,  —  '  Marcus  Tullius  Cicero,'  '  De- 
cimo  Bruto  Imperatori,'  or  Caio  Marcello  Consul!,'  — 
than  to  '  his  excellency  Major-General  Noodle,'  or  to 
4  the  honorable  John  Doodle.'  ...  If,  therefore,  I 
should  sometimes  address  a  letter  to  you  without  the 
i  excellency  '  tacked,  you  must  not  esteem  it  a  mark  of 
personal  or  official  disrespect,  but  the  reverse."  J 

Of  all  the  words  of  congratulation  which  poured  in 
upon  the  new  governor,  probably  none  came  so  straight 
from  the  heart,  and  none  could  have  been  quite  so 
sweet  to  him,  as  those  which,  on  the  12th  of  August, 
were  uttered  by  some  of  the  persecuted  dissenters  in 
Virginia,  who,  in  many  an  hour  of  need,  had  learned  to 
look  up  to  Patrick  Henry  as  their  strong  and  splendid 
champion,  in  the  legislature  and  in  the  courts.  On  the 
date  just  mentioned,  "the  ministers  and  delegates  of 
the  Baptist  churches  "  of  the  state,  being  met  in  con 
vention  at  Louisa,  sent  to  him  this  address  :  — 


"MAY    IT    PLEASE    YOUR    EXCELLENCY,  -  As 

advancement  to  the  honorable  and  important  station  as 
governor  of  this  commonwealth  affords  us  unspeakable 
pleasure,  we  beg  leave  to  present  your  excellency  with 
our  most  cordial  congratulations. 

"  Your  public  virtues  are  such  that  we  are  under  no 
temptation  to  flatter  you.  Virginia  has  done  honor  to 
her  judgment  in  appointing  your  excellency  to  hold  the 
reins  of  government  at  this  truly  critical  conjuncture, 
as  you  have  always  distinguished  yourself  by  your  zeal 
and  activity  for  her  welfare,  in  whatever  department 
has  been  assigned  you. 

"  As  a  religious  community,  we  have  nothing  to  re- 
*  5  Am.  Arch.,  i.  631. 


192  PATRICK   HENRY. 

quest  of  you.  Your  constant  attachment  to  the  glorious 
cause  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of  conscience,  leaves  us 
no  room  to  doubt  of  your  excellency's  favorable  regards 
while  we  worthily  demean  ourselves. 

"  May  God  Almighty  continue  you  long,  very  long, 
a  public  blessing  to  this  your  native  country,  and,  after 
a  life  of  usefulness  here,  crown  you  with  immortal 
felicity  in  the  world  to  come. 

"  Signed  by  order  :  JEREMIAH  WALKER,  Moderator. 
"  JOHN  WILLIAMS,  Clerk." 

To  these  loving  and  jubilant  words,  the  governor 
replied  in  an  off-hand  letter,  the  deep  feeling  of  which 
is  not  the  less  evident  because  it  is  restrained,  —  a  let 
ter  which  is  as  choice  and  noble  in  diction  as  it  is  in 
thought : — 

"  TO  THE   MINISTERS  AND    DELEGATES    OF  THE  BAPTIST 
CHURCHES,  AND  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THAT  COMMUNION. 

"  GENTLEMEN,  —  I  am  exceedingly  obliged  to  you  for 
your  very  kind  address,  and  the  favorable  sentiments 
you  are  pleased  to  entertain  respecting  my  conduct  and 
the  principles  which  have  directed  it.  My  constant  en 
deavor  shall  be  to  guard  the  rights  of  all  my  fellow- 
citizens  from  every  encroachment. 

"  I  am  happy  to  find  a  catholic  spirit  prevailing  in 
our  country,  and  that  those  religious  distinctions,  which 
formerly  produced  some  heats,  are  now  forgotten. 
Happy  must  every  friend  to  virtue  and  America  feel 
himself,  to  perceive  that  the  only  contest  among  us,  at 
this  most  critical  and  important  period,  is,  who  shall  be 
foremost  to  preserve  our  religious  and  civil  liberties. 

"  My   most  earnest  wish  is,  that   Christian   charity, 


FIRST  GOVERNOR    OF  STATE   OF  VIRGINIA.     193 

forbearance,  and  love,  may  unite  all  our  different  per 
suasions,  as  brethren  who  must  perish  or  triumph  to 
gether  ;  and  I  trust  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant 
when  we  shall  greet  each  other  as  the  peaceable  pos 
sessors  of  that  just  and  equal  system  of  liberty  adopted 
by  the  last  convention,  and  in  support  of  which  may 
God  crown  our  arms  with  success. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  and  very 
humble  servant,  P.  HENRY,  JuN.1 

"  August  13,  1776." 

On  the  day  on  which  Governor  Henry  was  sworn 
into  office,  the  convention  finally  adjourned,  having 
made  provision  for  the  meeting  of  the  general  as 
sembly  on  the  first  Monday  of  the  following  October. 
In  the  mean  time,  therefore,  all  the  interests  of  the 
state  were  to  be  in  the  immediate  keeping  of  the  gov 
ernor  and  privy  council ;  and,  for  a  part  of  that  time, 
as  it  turned  out,  the  governor  himself  was  disabled  for 
service.  For  we  now  encounter,  in  the  history  of  Pat 
rick  Henry,  the  first  mention  of  that  infirm  health  from 
which  he  seems  to  have  suffered,  in  some  degree,  during 
the  remaining  twenty-three  years  of  his  life.  Before 
taking  full  possession  of  the  governor's  palace,  which 
had  to  be  made  ready  for  his  use,  he  had  likewise  to 
prepare  for  this  great  change  in  his  life  by  returning  to 
his  home  in  the  county  of  Hanover.  There  he  lay  ill 
for  some  time  ; 2  and  upon  his  recovery  he  removed 
with  his  family  to  Williamsburg,  which  continued  to  be 
their  home  for  the  next  three  years. 

The  people  of   Virginia   had  been   accustomed,  for 

1  5  Am.  Arch  ,  i.  905,  906. 

2  George  Rogers  Clark's  Campaign  in  the  Illinois,  11. 

13 


194  PATRICK   HENRY. 

more  than  a  century,  to  look  upon  their  governors  as 
personages  of  very  great  dignity.  Several  of  those 
governors  had  been  connected  with  the  English  peerage  ; 
all  had  served  in  Virginia  in  a  vice-regal  capacity  ; 
many  had  lived  there  in  a  sort  of  vice-regal  pomp  and 
magnificence.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Governor 
Henry  would  be  able  or  willing  to  assume  so  much 
state  and  grandeur  as  his  predecessors  had  done  ;  and 
yet  he  felt,  and  the  people  of  Virginia  felt,  that  in  the 
transition  from  royal  to  republican  forms  the  dignity  of 
that  office  should  not  be  allowed  to  decline  in  any  im 
portant  particular.  Moreover,  as  a  contemporary  ob 
server  mentions,  Patrick  Henry  had  been  "  accused 
by  the  big-wigs  of  former  times  as  being  a  coarse  and 
common  man,  and  utterly  destitute  of  dignity ;  and 
perhaps  he  wished  to  show  them  that  they  were  mis 
taken."  1  At  any  rate,  by  the  testimony  of  all,  he 
seems  to  have  displayed  his  usual  judgment  and  skill 
in  adapting  himself  to  the  requirements  of  his  position  ; 
and,  while  never  losing  his  gentleness  and  his  simplicity 
of  manner,  to  have  borne  himself  as  the  impersonation, 
for  the  time  being,  of  the  executive  authority  of  a  great 
and  proud  commonwealth.  He  ceased  to  appear  fre 
quently  upon  the  streets  ;  and  whenever  he  did  appear, 
he  was  carefully  arrayed  in  a  dressed  wig,  in  black 
small-clothes,  and  in  a  scarlet  cloak;  and  his  presence 
and  demeanor  were  such  as  to  sustain,  in  the  popular 
mind,  the  traditional  respect  for  his  high  office. 

He  had  so  far  recovered  from  the  illness  which  had 

prostrated  him  during  the  summer,  as  to  be  at  his  post 

of  duty  when  the  general  assembly  of  the  state  began 

its  first  session,  on  Monday,  the  7th  of  October,  1776. 

1  Spencer  Roane,  MS. 


FIRST  GOVERNOR   OF  STATE   OF  VIRGINIA.    195 

His  health,  however,  was  still  extremely  frail ;  for  on 
the  30th  of  that  month  he  was  obliged  to  notify  the 
house  "  that  the  low  state  of  his  health  rendered  him 
unable  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  that  his 
physicians  had  recommended  to  him  to  retire  therefrom 
into  the  country,  till  he  should  recover  his  strength."  1 
His  absence  seems  not  to  have  been  very  long.  By 
the  16th  of  November,  as  one  may  infer  from  entries 
in  the  journal  of  the  house,2  he  was  able  to  resume  his 
official  duties. 

The  summer  and  autumn  of  that  year  proved  to  be  a 
dismal  period  for  the  American  cause.  Before  our  eyes, 
as  we  now  look  back  over  those  days,  there  marches  i 
this  grim  procession  of  dates  :  August  27,  the  battle  of  \ 
Long  Island  ;  August  29,  Washington's  retreat  across 
East  River ;  September  15,  the  panic  among  the  Ameri 
can  troops  at  Kip's  Bay,  and  the  American  retreat  from 
New  York ;  September  16,  the  battle  of  Harlem  Plains ; 
September  20,  the  burning  of  New  York  ;  October  28, 
the  battle  of  White  Plains  ;  November  16,  the  surrender 
of  Fort  Washington  ;  November  20,  the  abandonment 
of  Fort  Lee,  followed  by  Washington's  retreat  across 
the  Jerseys.  In  the  midst  of  these  disasters,  Washing 
ton  found  time  to  write,  from  the  Heights  of  Harlem, 
on  the  5th  of  October,  to  his  old  friend,  Patrick  Henry, 
congratulating  him  on  his  election  as  governor  of  Vir 
ginia  and  on  his  recovery  from  sickness  ;  explaining 
the  military  situation  at  headquarters  ;  advising  him 
about  military  appointments  in  Virginia ;  and  espe 
cially  giving  to  him  important  suggestions  concerning 
the  immediate  military  defence  of  Virginia  "  against  the 
enemy's  ships  and  tenders,  which,"  as  Washington  says 
1  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  32.  2  ibid.  57-59. 


196  PATRICK  HENRY. 

to  the  governor,  "  may  go  up  your  rivers  in  quest  of  pro 
visions,  or  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  your  towns."  1 
Indeed,  Virginia  was  just  then  exposed  to  hostile  at 
tacks  on  all  sides  ;  2  and  it  was  so  plain  that  any  attack 
by  water  would  have  found  an  easy  approach  to  Wil- 
liamsburg,  that,  in  the  course  of  the  next  few  months, 
the  public  records  and  the  public  stores  were  removed 
to  Richmond,  as  being,  on  every  account,  a  "  more  se 
cure  site."  l  Apparently,  however,  the  prompt  recog 
nition  of  this  danger  by  Governor  Henry,  early  in  the 
autumn  of  1776,  and  his  vigorous  military  preparations 
against  it,  were  interpreted  by  some  of  his  political  en 
emies  as  a  sign  both  of  personal  cowardice  and  of  offi 
cial  self-glorification,  —  as  is  indicated  by  a  letter  writ 
ten  by  the  aged  Landon  Carter  to  General  Washington, 
on  the  31st  of  October,  and  filled  with  all  manner  of 
caustic  garrulity  and  insinuation,  —  a  letter  from  which 
it  may  be  profitable  for  us  to  quote  a  few  sentences,  as 
qualifying  somewhat  that  stream  of  honeyed  testimony 
respecting  Patrick  Henry  which  commonly  flows  down 
upon  us  so  copiously  from  all  that  period.  "  If  I  don't 
err  in  conjecture,"  says  Carter,  "  I  can't  help  thinking 
that  the  head  of  our  commonwealth  has  as  great  a  pal 
ace  of  fear  and  apprehension  as  can  possess  the  heart  of 
any  being ;  and  if  we  compare  rumor  with  actual  move 
ments,  I  believe  it  will  prove  itself  to  every  sensible 
man.  As  soon  as  the  congress  sent  for  our  first,  third, 
fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  regiments  to  assist  you  in  contest 
against  the  enemy  where  they  really  were  .  .  .  there  got 

1   Writings  of  Washington,  iv.  138. 

-  See  letters  from  the  president  of  Va.  Privy  Council  and  from 
General  Lewis,  in  5  Am.  Arch.,  i.  736. 
8  Burk,  Hist.  Va.,  iv.  229. 


FIRST  GOVERNOR   OF  STATE  OF  VIRGINIA.    197 

a  report  among  the  soldiery  that  Dignity  had  declared  it 
would  not  reside  in  Williamsburg  without  two  thousand 
men  under  arms  to  guard  him.  This  had  like  to  have 
occasioned  a  mutiny.  A  desertion  of  many  from  the 
several  companies  did  follow ;  boisterous  fellows  resist 
ing,  and  swearing  they  would  not  leave  their  county. 
.  .  .  What  a  finesse  of  popularity  was  this  ?  ...  As  soon 
as  the  regiments  were  gone,  this  great  man  found  an  in 
terest  with  the  council  of  state,  perhaps  timorous  as  him 
self,  to  issue  orders  for  the  militia  of  twenty-six  coun 
ties,  and  five  companies  of  a  minute  battalion,  to  march 
to  Williamsburg,  to  protect  him  only  against  his  own 
fears  ;  and  to  make  this  the  more  popular,  it  was  en 
deavored  that  the  house  of  delegates  should  give  it  a 
countenance,  but,  as  good  luck  would  have  it,  it  was 
with  difficulty  refused.1  .  .  .  Immediately  then,  .  .  . 
a  bill  is  brought  in  to  remove  the  seat  of  government,  — 
some  say,  up  to  Hanover,  to  be  called  Henry-Town."  2 

This  gossip  of  a  disappointed  Virginian  aristocrat,  in 
vituperation  of  the  public  character  of  Governor  Hen 
ry,  naturally  leads  us  forward  in  our  story  to  that  more 
stupendous  eruption  of  gossip  which  relates,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  the  latter  part  of  December,  1776,  and 
which  alleges  that  a  conspiracy  was  then  formed  among 
certain  members  of  the  general  assembly  to  make  Pat 
rick  Henry  the  dictator  of  Virginia.  The  first  intima 
tion  ever  given  to  the  public  concerning  it,  was  given 
by  Jefferson  several  years  afterward,  in  his  "  Notes  on 
Virginia,"  a  fascinating  brochure  which  was  written  by 
him  in  1781  and  1782,  was  first  printed  privately  in 
Paris  in  1784,  and  was  first  published  in  England  in 

1  Compare  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  8. 

2  5  Am.  Arch.,  ii.  1305-1306. 


198  PATRICK  HENRY. 

1787,  in  America  in  1788.1  The  essential  portions  of 
his  statement  are  as  follows:  ''In  December,  1776,  our 
circumstances  being  much  distressed,  it  was  proposed  in 
the  house  of  delegates  to  create  a  dictator,  invested  with 
every  power  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary,  civil 
and  military,  of  life  and  death,  over  our  persons  and 

over  our  properties One  who  entered  into  this 

contest  from  a  pure  love  of  liberty,  and  a  sense  of  in 
jured  rights,  who  detemrined  to  make  every  sacrifice 
and  to  meet  every  danger,  for  the  reestablishment  of 
those  rights  oil  a  firm  basis,  .  .  .  must  stand  con 
founded  and  dismayed  when  he  is  told  that  a  consider 
able  portion  of "  the  house  "  had  meditated  the  sur 
render  of  them  into  a  single  hand,  and  in  lieu  of  a 
limited  monarchy,  to  deliver  him  over  to  a  despotic  one. 
.  .  .  The  very  thought  alone  was  treason  against  the 
people ;  was  treason  against  man  in  general  ;  as  rivet 
ing  forever  the  chains  which  bow  down  their  necks, 
by  giving  to  their  oppressors  a  proof,  which  they  would 
have  trumpeted  through  the  universe,  of  the  imbecility 
of  republican  government,  in  times  of  pressing  danger, 
to  shield  them  from  harm.  .  .  .  Those  who  meant  well, 
of  the  advocates  of  this  measure  (and  most  of  them 
meant  well,  for  I  know  them  personally,  had  been  their 
fellow  laborer  in  the  common  cause,  and  had  often 
proved  the  purity  of  their  principles),  had  been  seduced 
in  their  judgment  by  the  example  of  an  ancient  repub 
lic,  whose  constitution  and  circumstances  were  funda 
mentally  different."  2 

With  that  artistic  tact  and   that  excellent  prudence 

1  Randall,  Life  of  Jefferson,  i.  363,  413  ;  and  Hist.  Mag.,  i.  52. 

2  Writings  of  Jefferson,  viii.  368-371  ;  also   Phila.  ed.  of  Notes, 
1825,  172-176. 


FIRST  GOVERNOR   OF  STATE   OF  VIRGINIA.     199 

which  seem  never  to  have  failed  Jefferson  in  any  of  his 
enterprises  for  the  disparagement  of  his  associates,  he 
here  avoids,  as  will  be  observed,  all  mention  of  the 
name  of  the  person  for  whose  fatal  promotion  this  classic 
conspiracy  was  formed, — leaving  that  interesting  item 
to  come  out,  as  it  did  many  years  afterward,  when  the 
most  of  those  who  could  have  borne  testimony  upon  the 
subject  were  in  their  graves,  and  when  the  damning 
stigma  could  be  comfortably  fastened  to  the  name  of 
Patrick  Henry  without  the  direct  intervention  of  Jef 
ferson's  own  hands.  Accordingly,  in  1816,  a  French 
gentleman,  Girardin,  a  near  neighbor  of  Jefferson's,  who 
enjoyed  "  the  incalculable  benefit  of  a  free  access  to 
Mr.  Jefferson's  library,"  *  and  who  wrote  the  continua 
tion  of  Burk's  History  of  Virginia  under  Jefferson's 
very  eye,2  gave  in  that  work  a  highly  wrought  account 
of  the  alleged  conspiracy  of  December,  1776,  as  involv 
ing  "  nothing  less  than  the  substitution  of  a  despotic 
in  lieu  of  a  limited  monarch ; "  and  then  proceeded  to 
bring  the  accusation  down  from  those  lurid  generalities 
of  condemnation  in  which  Jefferson  himself  had  cau 
tiously  left  it,  by  adding  this  sentence :  "  That  Mr. 
Henry  was  the  person  in  view  for  the  dictatorship,  is 
well  ascertained."  3 

Finally,  in  1817,  William  Wirt,  whose  Life  of  Henry 
was  likewise  composed  under  nearly  the  same  inestima 
ble  advantages  as  regards  instruction  and  oversight  fur 
nished  by  Jefferson,  repeated  the  fearful  tale,  and  added 
some  particulars  ;  but,  in  doing  so,  Wirt  could  not 

1  Burk,  Hist.  Va.,  iv.  Pref.  Rem.  vi. 

2  See  Jefferson's  explicit  endorsement  of  Girardin's  book  in  his  own 
Writings,  i.  50. 

3  Burk,  Hist.  Va.,  189,  190. 


200  PATRICK  HENRY. 

fail  —  good  lawyer  and  just  man,  as  he  was  —  to  direct 
attention  to  the  absence  of  all  evidence  of  any  collusion 
on  the  part  of  Patrick  Henry  with  the  projected  folly 
and  crime.  "  Even  the  heroism  of  the  Virginia  legis 
lature,"  says  \\rirt,  "  gave  way  ;  and,  in  a  season  of 
despair,  the  mad  project  of  a  dictator  was  seriously 
meditated.  That  Mr.  Henry  was  thought  of  for  this 
office,  has  been  alleged,  and  is  highly  probable ;  but 
that  the  project  was  suggested  by  him,  or  even  received 
his  countenance,  I  have  met  with  no  one  who  will  ven 
ture  to  affirm.  There  is  a  tradition  that  Colonel  Archi 
bald  Cary,  the  speaker  of  the  senate,  was  principally 
instrumental  in  crushing  this  project;  that  meeting 
Colonel  Syme,  the  step-brother  of  Colonel  Henry,  in 
the  lobby  of  the  house,  he  accosted  him  very  fiercely  in 
terms  like  these  :  l  I  am  told  that  your  brother  wishes 
to  be  dictator.  Tell  him  from  me,  that  the  day  of  his 
appointment  shall  be  the  day  of  his  death  ;  —  for  he 
shall  feel  my  dagger  in  his  heart  before  the  sunset  of 
that  day.'  And  the  tradition  adds  that  Colonel  Syme, 
in  great  agitation,  declared  that  '  if  such  a  project  ex 
isted,  his  brother  had  no  hand  in  it ;  for  that  nothing 
could  be  more  foreign  to  him,  than  to  countenance  any 
office  which  could  endanger,  in  the  most  distant  manner, 
the  liberties  of  his  country.'  The  intrepidity  and  vio 
lence  of  Colonel  Gary's  character  renders  the  tradition 
probable ;  but  it  furnishes  no  proof  of  Mr.  Henry's 
implication  in  the  scheme."  1 

A  disinterested  study  of  this  subject,  in  the  light  of 
all  the  evidence  now  attainable,  will  be  likely  to  con 
vince  any  one  that  this  enormous  scandal  must   have 
been  very  largely  a  result  of  the  extreme  looseness  at 
1  Wirt,  Life  of  Henry,  204-205. 


FIRST   GOVERNOR    OF  STATE   OF  VIRGINIA.     201 

that  time  prevailing  in  the  use  of  the  word  dictator, 
and  of  its  being  employed,  on  the  one  side,  in  an  inno 
cent  sense,  and,  on  the  other  side,  in  a  guilty  one.  In 
strict  propriety,  of  course,  the  word  designates  a  mag 
istrate  created  in  an  emergency  of  public  peril,  and 
clothed  for  a  time  with  unlimited  power.  It  is  an  ex<= 
treme  remedy,  and  in  itself  a  remedy  extremely  dan 
gerous,  and  can  never  be  innocently  resorted  to  except 
when  the  necessity  for  it  is  indubitable  ;  and  it  may 
well  be  questioned  whether,  among  people  and  institu 
tions  like  our  own,  a  necessity  can  ever  arise  which 
would  justify  the  temporary  grant  of  unlimited  power 
to  any  man.  If  this  be  true,  it  follows  that  no  man 
among  us  can,  without  dire  political  guilt,  ever  consent 
to  bestow  such  power ;  and  that  no  man  can,  without 
the  same  guilt,  ever  consent  to  receive  it. 

Yet  it  is  plain  that  even  among  us,  between  the 
years  1776  and  1783,  emergencies  of  terrific  public 
peril  did  arise,  sufficient  to  justify,  nay,  even  to  com 
pel,  the  bestowment  either  upon  the  governor  of  some 
state,  or  upon  the  general  of  the  armies,  not  of  un 
limited  power,  certainly,  but  of  extraordinary  power,  — 
such  extraordinary  power,  for  example,  as  was  actually 
conferred  by  the  continental  congress,  more  than  once, 
on  Washington ;  as  was  conferred  by  the  legislature  of 
South  Carolina  on  Governor  John  Rutledge ;  as  was 
repeatedly  conferred  by  the  legislature  of  Virginia  upon 
Governor  Patrick  Henry  ;  and  afterward,  in  still  higher 
degree,  by  the  same  legislature,  on  Governor  Thomas 
Jefferson  himself.  Nevertheless,  so  loose  was  the 
meaning  then  attached  to  the  word  dictator,  that  it  was 
not  uncommon  for  men  to  speak  of  these  very  cases  as 
examples  of  the  bestowment  of  a  dictatorship,  and  of  the 


202  PATRICK  HENRY. 

exercise  of  dictatorial  power ;  although,  in  every  one 
of  the  cases  mentioned,  there  was  lacking  the  essential 
feature  of  a  true  dictatorship,  namely,  the  grant  of  un 
limited  power  to  one  man.  It  is  perfectly  obvious, 
likewise,  that  when,  in  those  days,  men  spoke  thus  of  a 
dictatorship,  and  of  dictatorial  power,  they  attached  no 
suggestion  of  political  guilt  either  to  the  persons  who 
bestowed  such  power,  or  to  the  persons  who  severally 
accepted  it,  —  the  tacit  understanding  being  that,  in 
every  instance,  the  public  danger  required  and  justified 
some  grant  of  extraordinary  power ;  that  no  more 
power  was  granted  than  was  necessary  ;  and  that  the 
man  to  whom,  in  any  case,  the  grant  was  made,  was  a 
man  to  whom,  there  was  good  reason  to  believe,  the 
grant  could  be  made  with  safety.  Obviously,  it  was 
upon  this  tacit  understanding  of  its  meaning  that  the 
word  was  used,  for  instance,  by  Edmund  Randolph,  in 
1788,  in  the  Virginia  constitutional  convention,  when, 
alluding  to  the  extraordinary  power  bestowed  by  con 
gress  on  Washington,  he  said :  "  We  had  an  American 
dictator  in  1781."  Surely,  Randolph  did  not  mean  to 
impute  political  crime,  either  to  the  congress  which 
made  Washington  a  dictator,  or  to  Washington  him 
self  who  consented  to  be  made  one.  It  was  upon  the 
same  tacit  understanding,  also,  that  Patrick  Henry,  in 
reply  to  Randolph,  took  up  the  word,  and  extolled  the 
grant  of  dictatorial  power  to  Washington  on  the  occa 
sion  referred  to :  "  In  making  a  dictator,"  said  Henry, 
"•  we  followed  the  example  of  the  most  glorious,  mag 
nanimous,  and  skilful  nations.  In  great  dangers,  this 
power  has  been  given.  Rome  has  furnished  us  with 
an  illustrious  example.  America  found  a  person  for 
that  trust :  she  looked  to  Virginia  for  him.  We  gave 


FIRST   GOVERNOR   OF  STATE   OF  VIRGINIA.    203 

a  dictatorial  power  to  hands  that  used  it  gloriously,  and 
which  were  rendered  more  glorious  by  surrendering  it 
up."  ' 

Thus  it  is  apparent  that  the  word  dictator  was  fre 
quently  used  in  those  times  in  a  sense  perfectly  inno 
cent.  As  all  men  know,  however,  the  word  is  one 
capable  of  suggesting  the  possibilities  of  dreadful  polit 
ical  crime  ;  and  it  is  not  hard  to  see  how,  when  employed 
by  one  person  to  describe  the  bestowment  and  accept 
ance  of  extraordinary  power,  —  implying  a  perfectly 
innocent  proposition,  it  could  be  easily  taken  by  another 
person  as  describing  the  bestowment  and  acceptance  of 
unlimited  power,  —  implying  a  proposition  which  among 
us,  probably,  would  always  be  a  criminal  one. 

With  the  help  which  this  discussion  may  give  us,  let 
us  now  return  to  the  general  assembly  of  Virginia,  at 
Williamsburg,  approaching  the  close  of  its  iirst  session, 
in  the  latter  part  of  December,  1776.  It  was  on  the 
point  of  adjourning,  not  to  meet  again  until  the  latter 
part  of  March,  1777.  At  that  moment,  by  the  arrival 
of  most  alarming  news  from  the  seat  of  war,  it  was 
forced  to  make  special  provision  for  the  public  safety 
during  the  interval  which  must  elapse  before  its  next 
session.  Its  journal  indicates  that,  prior  to  the  20th  of 
December,  it  had  been  proceeding  with  its  business  in 
a  quiet  way,  under  no  apparent  consciousness  of  im 
minent  peril.  On  that  day,  however,  there  are  traces 
of  a  panic ;  for,  on  that  day,  "  The  Virginia  Gazette  " 
announced  to  them  the  appalling  news  of  "  the  crossing 
of  the  Delaware  by  the  British  forces,  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  thousand  strong ;  the  position  of  General  Wash 
ington,  at  Bristol,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  with 
1  Elliot's  Debates,  iii.  160. 


204  PATRICK  HENRY. 

only  six  thousand  men  ; "  and  the  virtual  flight  of  con 
gress  from  Philadelphia.1  At  this  rate,  how  long  would 
it  be  before  the  continental  army  would  be  dispersed 
or  captured,  and  the  troops  of  the  enemy  sweeping 
in  vengeance  across  the  borders  of  Virginia  ?  Accord 
ingly,  the  house  of  delegates  immediately  resolved  it 
self  into  "a  committee  to  take  into  their  considera 
tion  the  state  of  America ; "  but  not  being  able  to  reach 
any  decision  that  day,  it  voted  to  resume  the  subject  on 
the  day  following,  and  for  that  purpose  to  meet  an  hour 
earlier  than  usual.  So,  on  Saturday,  the  21st  of  Decem 
ber,  the  house  passed  a  series  of  resolutions  intended 
to  provide  for  the  crisis  into  which  the  country  was 
plunged,  and,  among  the  other  resolutions,  this  :  — 

"  And  whereas  the  present  imminent  danger  of 
America,  and  the  ruin  and  misery  which  threatens  the 
good  people  of  this  commonwealth,  and  their  posterity, 
calls  for  the  utmost  exertion  of  our  strength,  and  it  is 
become  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  state  that 
the  usual  forms  of  government  be  suspended  during  a 
limited  time,  for  the  more  speedy  execution  of  the  most 
vigorous  and  effectual  measures  to  repel  the  invasion  of 
the  enemy  ; 

"  Resolved,  therefore,  That  the  governor  be,  and  he  is 
hereby  fully  authorized  and  empowered,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  privy  council,  from  hence 
forward,  until  ten  days  next  after  the  first  meeting  of 
the  general  assembly,  to  carry  into  execution  such  re 
quisitions  as  may  be  made  to  this  commonwealth  by  the 
American  congress  for  the  purpose  of  encountering  or 
repelling  the  enemy  ;  to  order  the  three  battalions  on  the 
pay  of  this  commonwealth  to  march,  if  necessary,  to  join 
i  Cited  by  William  Wirt  Henry,  Hist.  Mag.  for  1873,  349. 


FIRST   GOVERNOR   OF  STATE   OF  VIRGINIA.     205 

the  continental  army,  or  to  the  assistance  of  any  of  our 
sister  states ;  to  call  forth  any  and  such  greater  military 
force  as  they  shall  judge  requisite,  either  by  embodying 
and  arraying  companies  or  regiments  of  volunteers,  or 
by  raising  additional  battalions,  appointing  and  com 
missioning  the  proper  officers,  and  to  direct  their  opera 
tions  within  this  commonwealth,  under  the  command  of 
the  continental  generals  or  other  officers  according  to 
their  respective  ranks,  or  order  them  to  march  to  join 
and  act  in  concert  with  the  continental  army,  or  the 
troops  of  any  of  the  American  states  ;  and  to  provide 
for  their  pay,  supply  of  provisions,  arms,  and  other 
necessaries,  at  the  charge  of  this  commonwealth,  by 
drawing  on  the  treasurer  for  the  money  which  may  be 
necessary  from  time  to  time ;  and  the  said  treasurer  is 
authorized  to  pay  such  warrants  out  of  any  public 
money  which  may  be  in  his  hands,  and  the  general  as 
sembly  will,  at  their  next  session,  make  ample  provision 
for  any  deficiency  which  may  happen.  But  that  this 
departure  from  the  constitution  of  government,  being 
in  this  instance  founded  only  on  the  most  evident  and 
urgent  necessity,  ought  not  hereafter  to  be  drawn  into 
precedent." 

These  resolutions,  having  been  pressed  rapidly  through 
the  forms  of  the  house,  were  at  once  carried  up  to  the 
senate  for  its  concurrence.  The  answer  of  the  senate 
was  promptly  returned,  agreeing  to  all  the  resolutions 
of  the  lower  house,  but  proposing  an  important  amend 
ment  in  the  phraseology  of  the  particular  resolution 
which  we  have  just  quoted.  Instead  of  this  clause  — 
"  the  usual  forms  of  government  should  be  suspended," 
it  suggested  the  far  more  accurate  and  far  more  prudent 
expression  which  here  follows,  —  "  additional  powers 


206  PATRICK  HENRY. 

be  given  to  the  governor  and  council."  This  amend 
ment  was  assented  to  by  the  house  ;  and  almost  im 
mediately  thereafter  it  adjourned  until  the  last  Thurs 
day  in  March,  1777,  "then  to  meet  in  the  city  of 
Williainsburg,  or  at  such  other  place  as  the  governor 
and  council,  for  good  reasons,  may  appoint."  ] 

Such,  undoubtedly,  was  the  occasion  on  which,  if  at 
any  time  during  that  session,  the  project  for  a  dictator 
ship  in  Virginia  was  under  consideration  by  the  house 
of  delegates.  The  only  evidence  for  the  reality  of  such 
a  project  is  derived  from  the  testimony  of  Jefferson  ; 
and  Jefferson,  though  a  member  of  the  house,  was  not 
then  in  attendance,  having  procured,  on  the  29th  of 
the  previous  mouth,  permission  to  be  absent  during  the 
remainder  of  the  session.2  Is  it  not  probable  that  the 
whole  terrible  plot,  as  it  afterward  lay  in  the  mind  of 
Jefferson,  may  have  originated  in  reports  which  reached 
him  elsewhere,  to  the  effect  that,  in  the  excitement  of 
the  house  over  the  public  danger  and  over  the  need  of 
energetic  measures  against  that  danger,  some  members 
had  demanded  that  the  governor  should  be  invested 

S 

with  what  they  perhaps  called  dictatorial  power,  mean 
ing  thereby  no  more  than  extraordinary  power ;  and 
that  all  the  criminal  accretions  to  that  meaning,  which 
Jefferson  attributed  to  the  project,  were  simply  the 
work  of  his  own  imagination,  always  sensitive  and  quick 
to  take  alarm  on  behalf  of  human  liberty,  and,  on  such 
a  subject  as  this,  easily  set  on  fire  by  examples  of  awful 
political  crime  which  would  occur  to  him  from  Roman 
history  ?  This  suggestion,  moreover,  is  not  out  of  har 
mony  with  one  which  has  been  made  by  a  thorough  and 

1  Jour.  Va.  House  of  DtL,  106-108. 

2  Ibid.  75;  and  Randall,  Life  of  Je/erson,  i.  205. 


FIRST  GOVERNOR   OF  STATE   OF  VIRGINIA.     207 

most  candid  student  of  the  subject,  who  says  :  "  I  am 
very  much  inclined  to  think  that  some  sneering  remark 
of  Colonel  Gary,  on  that  occasion,  has  given  rise  to  the 
whole  story  about  a  proposed  dictator  at  that  time."  l 

At  any  rate,  this  must  not  be  forgotten  :  if  the  pro 
ject  of  a  dictatorship,  in  the  execrable  sense  affirmed 
by  Jefferson,  was,  during  that  session,  advocated  by  any 
man  or  by  any  cabal  in  the  assembly,  history  must  ab 
solve  Patrick  Henry  of  all  knowledge  of  it,  and  of  all 
responsibility  for  it.  Not  only  has  no  tittle  of  evidence 
been  produced,  involving  his  connivance  at  such  a 
scheme,  but  the  assembly  itself,  a  few  months  later, 
unwittingly  furnished  to  posterity  the  most  conclusive 
proof  that  no  man  in  that  body  could  have  believed  him 
to  be  smirched  with  even  the  suggestion  of  so  horrid  a 
crime.  Had  Patrick  Henry  been  suspected,  during  the 
autumn  and  early  winter  of  1776,  of  any  participation 
in  the  foul  plot  to  create  a  despotism  in  Virginia,  is  it  to 
be  conceived  that,  at  its  very  next  session,  in  the  spring 
of  1777,  that  assembly,  composed  of  nearly  the  same 
members  as  before,  would  have  reflected  to  the  gov 
ernorship  so  profligate  and  dangerous  a  man,  and  that 
too  without  any  visible  opposition  in  either  house?  Yet 
that  is  precisely  what  the  Virginia  assembly  did  in  May, 
1777.  Moreover,  one  year  later,  this  same  assembly 
reflected  this  same  profligate  and  dangerous  politician 
for  his  third  and  last  permissible  year  in  the  governor 
ship,  and  it  did  so  with  the  same  unbroken  unanimity. 
Moreover,  during  all  that  time,  Thomas  Jefferson  was  a 
member,  and  a  most  conspicuous  and  influential  member, 
of  the  Virginia  assembly.  If,  indeed,  he  then  believed 
that  his  old  friend,  Patrick  Henry,  had  stood  ready 
i  William  Wirt  Henry,  Hist.  Mag.  for  1873,  350. 


208  PATRICK  HENRY. 

in  3776,  to  commit  "treason  against  the  people"  of 
America,  and  "  treason  against  mankind  in  general," 
why  did  he  permit  the  traitor  to  be  twice  reflected  to 
the  chief  magistracy,  without  the  record  of  even  one 
brave  effort  against  him  on  either  occasion  ? 

On  the  26th  of  December,  1776,  in  accordance  with 
the  special  authority  thus  conferred  upon  him  by  the 
general  assembly,  Governor  Henry  issued  a  vigorous 
proclamation,  declaring  that  the  "  critical  situation  of 
American  affairs  "  called  for  "  the  utmost  exertion  of 
every  sister  state  to  put  a  speedy  end  to  the  cruel 
ravages  of  a  haughty  and  inveterate  enemy,  and  se 
cure  our  invaluable  rights,"  and  "earnestly  exhorting 
and  requiring "  all  the  good  people  of  Virginia  to  as 
sist  in  the  formation  of  volunteer  companies  for  such 
service  as  might  be  required.1  The  date  of  that  proc 
lamation  was  also  the  date  of  Washington's  famous 
matutinal  surprise  of  the  Hessians  at  Trenton,  —  a  bit 
of  much-needed  good  luck,  which  was  followed  by  his 
fortunate  engagement  with  the  enemy  near  Princeton, 
on  the  3d  of  January,  1777.  On  these  and  a  very  few 
other  extremely  small  crumbs  of  comfort,  the  strug 
gling  revolutionists  had  to  nourish  their  burdened  hearts 
for  many  a  month  thereafter  ;  Washington  himself, 
during  all  that  time,  with  his  little  army  of  tattered 
and  barefoot  warriors,  majestically  predominating  over 
the  scene  from  the  heights  of  Morristown  ;  while  the 
good-humored  British  commander,  Sir  William  Howe, 
considerately  abstained  from  any  serious  military  dis 
turbance  until  the  middle  of  the  following  summer. 
Thus  the  chief  duty  of  the  governor  of  Virginia,  during 
the  winter  and  spring  of  1777,  as  it  had  been  in  the  pre- 

1  5  Am.  Arch.,  iii.  1425-1426. 


FIRST   GOVERNOR   OF  STATE    OF  VIRGINIA.    209 

vious  autumn,  was  that  of  trying  to  keep  in  the  field  Vir. 
ginia's  quota  of  troops,  and  of  trying  to  furnish  Vir 
ginia's  share  of  military  supplies,  —  no  easy  task,  it 
should  seem,  in  those  times  of  poverty,  confusion,  and 
patriotic  languor.  The  official  correspondence  of  the 
governor  indicates  the  unslumberirig  anxiety,  the  en 
ergy,  the  fertility  of  device  with  which,  in  spite  of  de 
fective  health,  he  devoted  himself  to  these  hard  tasks. 1 

In  his  great  desire  for  exact  information  as  to  the 
real  situation  at  headquarters,  Governor  Henry  had  sent 
to  Washington  a  secret  messenger  by  the  name  of 
Walker,  who  was  to  make  his  observations  at  Morris- 
town  and  to  report  the  results  to  himself.  Washington 
at  once  perceived  the  embarrassments  to  which  such 
a  plan  might  lead  ;  and  accordingly,  on  the  24th  of 
February,  1777,  he  wrote  to  the  governor,  gently  ex 
plaining  why  he  could  not  receive  Mr.  Walker  as  a  mere 
visiting  observer :  "  To  avoid  the  precedent,  therefore, 
and  from  your  character  of  Mr.  Walker,  and  the  high 
opinion  I  myself  entertain  of  his  abilities,  honor,  and 
prudence,  I  have  taken  him  into  my  family  as  an  extra 
aid-de-camp,  and  shall  be  happy  if,  in  this  character,  he 
can  answer  your  expectations.  I  sincerely  thank  you, 
Sir,  for  your  kind  congratulations  on  the  late  success  of 
the  continental  arms  (would  to  God  it  may  continue), 
and  for  your  polite  mention  of  me.  Let  me  earnestly 
entreat  that  the  troops  raised  in  Virginia  for  this  army 
be  forwarded  on  by  companies,  or  otherwise,  without 
delay,  and  as  well  equipped  as  possible  for  the  field,  or 
we  shall  be  in  no  condition  to  open  the  campaign."  2 

1  I  refer,  for  example,  to  his  letters  of  Oct.  11,  1776  ;  of  Nov.  19, 
1776  ;   of  Dec.  6,    1776  ;    of  Jan.  8,  1777  ;    of  March  20,   1777  ;   of 
March  28,  1777  ;  of  June  20,  1777  ;  besides  the  letters  cited  in  the 
text. 

2  Writinrs  of  Washington,  iv.  330. 


210  PATRICK  HENRY. 

On  the  29th  of  the  following  month,  the  governor 
wrote  to  Washington  of  the  overwhelming  difficulty 
attending  all  his  efforts  to  comply  with  the  request 
mentioned  in  the  letter  just  cited,  —  this  difficulty  aris 
ing  in  no  small  degree,  it  is  obvious,  from  an  invincible 
preference  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  liberty-loving 
citizens  of  Virginia  that  the  honor  of  fighting  for  lib. 
erty  should  be  exclusively  enjoyed  by  others  :  "  I  am 
very  sorry  to  inform  you  that  the  recruiting  business  of 
late  goes  on  so  badly,  that  there  remains  but  little  pros 
pect  of  filling  the  six  new  battalions  from  this  state, 
voted  by  the  assembly.  The  board  of  council  see  this 
with  great  concern,  and,  after  much  reflection  on  the 
subject,  are  of  opinion  that  the  deficiency  in  our  regu 
lars  can  no  way  be  supplied  so  properly  as  by  enlisting 
volunteers.  There  is  reason  to  believe  a  considerable 
number  of  these  may  be  got  to  serve  six  or  eight 
months.  ...  I  believe  you  can  receive  no  assistance  by 
drafts  from  the  militia.  From  the  battalions  of  the 
commonwealth  none  can  be  drawn  as  yet,  because  they 
are  not  half  full.  .  .  .  Virginia  will  find  some  apology 
with  you  for  this  deficiency  in  her  quota  of  regulars, 
when  the  difficulties  lately  thrown  in  our  way  are  con 
sidered.  The  Georgians  and  Carolinians  have  enlisted 
[in  Virginia]  probably  two  battalions  at  least.  A  regi 
ment  of  artillery  is  in  great  forwardness.  Besides  these, 
Colonels  Baylor  and  Gray  son  are  collecting  regiments ; 
and  three  others  are  forming  for  this  state.  Add  to  all 
this  our  Indian  wars  and  marine  service,  almost  total 
want  of  necessaries,  the  false  accounts  of  deserters,  — 
many  of  whom  lurk  here,  —  the  terrors  of  the  small 
pox  and  the  many  deaths  occasioned  by  it,  and  the  defi 
cient  enlistments  are  accounted  for  in  the  best  manner  1 


FIRST   GOVERNOR   OF  STATE   OF  VIRGINIA.    211 

can.  As  no  time  can  be  spared,  I  wish  to  be  honored 
with  jour  answer  as  soon  as  possible,  in  order  to  pro 
mote  the  volunteer  scheme,  if  it  meets  your  approbation. 
I  should  be  glad  of  any  improvements  on  it  that  may 
occur  to  you.  I  believe  about  four  of  the  six  battalions 
may  be  enlisted,  but  have  seen  no  regular  [return]  of 
their  state.  Their  scattered  situation,  and  being  many 
of  them  in  broken  quotas,  is  a  reason  for  their  slow 
movement.  I  have  issued  repeated  orders  for  their 
march  long  since."  1 

The  general  assembly  of  Virginia,  at  its  session  in 
the  spring  of  1777,  was  required  to  elect  a  governor,  to 
serve  for  one  year  from  the  day  on  which  that  session 
should  end.  As  no  candidate  was  named  in  opposition 
to  Patrick  Henry,  the  senate  proposed  to  the  house  of 
delegates  that  he  should  be  re-appointed  without  ballot. 
This,  accordingly,  was  done,  by  resolution  of  the  latter 
body  on  the  29th  of  May,  and  by  that  of  the  senate  on 
the  1st  of  June.  On  the  5th  of  June,  the  committee 
appointed  to  inform  the  governor  of  this  action  laid 
before  the  house  his  answer :  — 

"  GENTLEMEN,  —  The  signal  honor  conferred  on  me 
by  the  general  assembly,  in  their  choice  of  me  to  be 
governor  of  this  commonwealth,  demands  my  best  ac 
knowledgments,  which  I  beg  the  favor  of  you  to  con 
vey  to  them  in  the  most  acceptable  manner. 

I  shall  execute  the  duties  of  that  high  station  to  which 
I  am  again  called  by  the  favor  of  my  fellow-citizens, 
according  to  the  best  of  my  abilities,  and  I  shall  rely 
upon  the  candor  and  wisdom  of  the  assembly  to  excuse 
and  supply  my  defects.  The  good  of  the  commonwealth 

1  Sparks,  Corr.  Rev.,  i.  361,  362. 


212  PATRICK  HENRY. 

shall  be  the  only  object  of  my  pursuit,  and  I  shall  meas 
ure  my  happiness  according  to  the  success  which  shall 
attend  my  endeavors  to  establish  the  public  liberty.  I 
beg  to  be  presented  to  the  assembly,  and  that  they  and 
you  will  be  assured  that  I  am,  with  every  sentiment  of 
the  highest  regard,  their  and  your  most  obedient  and 
very  humble  servant, 

«  P.  HENRY."  l 

After  a  perusal  of  this  nobly  written  letter,  the  gentle 
reader  will  have  no  difficulty  in  concluding  that,  if  in 
deed  the  author  of  it  was  then  lying  in  wait  for  an  op 
portunity  to  set  up  a  despotism  in  Virginia,  he  had 
already  become  an  adept  in  the  hypocrisy  which  ena 
bled  him,  not  only  to  conceal  the  fact,  but  to  convey  an 
impression  quite  the  opposite. 

i  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  61. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

GOVERNOR     A     SECOND     TIME. 

PATRICK  HENRY'S  second  term  as  governor  extended 
from  the  28th  of  June,  1777,  to  the  28th  of  June,  1778  : 
a  twelve-month  of  vast  and  even  decisive  events  in  the 
struggle  for  national  independence,  —  its  awful  disas 
ters  being  more  than  relieved  by  the  successes,  both 
diplomatic  and  military,  which  were  compressed  within 
that  narrow  strip  of  time.  Let  us  try,  by  a  glance  at 
the  chief  items  in  the  record  of  that  year,  to  bring 
before  our  eyes  the  historic  environment  amid  which 
the  governor  of  Virginia  then  wrought  at  his  heavy 
tasks:  July  6th,  1777,  American  evacuation  of  Ticon- 
deroga  at  the  approach  of  Burgoyne ;  August  6th,  de 
feat  of  Herkimer  by  the  British  under  St.  Leger ; 
August  16th,  Stark's  victory  over  the  British  at  Ben- 
nington ;  September  llth,  defeat  of  Washington  at 
Brandywine ;  September  27th,  entrance  of  the  Brit 
ish  into  Philadelphia;  October  4th,  defeat  of  Wash 
ington  at  German  town ;  October  16th,  surrender  of 
Burgoyne  and  his  entire  army  ;  December  llth,  Wash 
ington's  retirement  into  winter  -  quarters  at  Valley 
Forge  ;  February  6th,  1778,  American  treaty  of  alli 
ance  with  France;  May  llth,  death  of  Lord  Chatham; 
June  13th,  Lord  North's  peace-commissioners  propose 
to  congress  a  cessation  of  hostilities ;  June  18th,  the 
British  evacuate  Philadelphia ;  June  28th,  the  battle 
of  Monmouth. 


214  PATRICK  HENRY. 

The  story  of  the  personal  life  of  Patrick  Henry  dur 
ing  those  stern  and  agitating  months  is  lighted  up  by 
the  mention  of  his  marriage,  on  the  9th  of  October, 
1777,  to  Dorothea  Dandridge,  a  granddaughter  of  the 
old  royal  governor,  Alexander  Spotswood,  —  a  lady 
who  was  much  younger  than  her  husband,  and  whose 
companionship  proved  to  be  the  solace  of  all  the  years 
that  remained  to  him  on  earth.  —  ~z  & 

The  pressure  of  official  business  upon  him  can  hardly 
have  been  less  than  during  the  previous  year.  The 
general  assembly  was  in  session  from  the  20th  of  Oc 
tober,  1777,  until  the  24th  of  January,  1778,  and  from 
the  4th  of  May,  to  the  1st  of  June,  1778,  —  involving, 
of  course,  a  long  strain  of  attention  by  the  governor  to 
the  work  of  the  two  houses.  Moreover,  the  prominence 
of  Virginia  among  the  states,  and,  at  the  same  time,  her 
exemption  from  the  most  formidable  assaults  of  the 
enemy,  led  to  great  demands  being  made  upon  her  both 
for  men  and  for  supplies.  To  meet  these  demands, 
either  by  satisfying  them  or  by  explaining  his  failure 
to  do  so,  involved  a  copious  and  laborious  correspond 
ence  on  the  part  of  Governor  Henry,  not  only  with  his 
own  official  subordinates  in  the  state,  but  with  the 
president  of  congress,  with  the  board  of  war,  and  with 
the  general  of  the  army.  The  official  letters  which  he 
thus  wrote  are  a  monument  of  his  ardor  and  energy  as 
a  war-governor,  his  attention  to  details,  his  broad  prac 
tical  sense,  his  hopefulness  and  patience  under  galling 
disappointments  and  defeats.1 

1  Of  the  official  letters  of  Governor  Henry,  doubtless  many  have 
perished  ;  a  few  have  been  printed  in  Sparks,  Force,  Wirt,  and  else 
where;  a  considerable  number,  also,  are  preserved  in  manuscript  in 
the  archives  of  the  department  of  state  at  Washington.  Copies  of  the 


GOVERNOR  A   SECOND    TIME.  215 

Perhaps  nothing  in  the  life  of  Governor  Henry  dur 
ing  his  second  term  of  office  has  so  touching  an  interest 
for  us  now,  as  has  the  course  which  he  took  respecting 
the  famous  intrigue,  which  was  developed  into  alarming 
proportions  during  the  winter  of  1777  and  1778,  for 
the  displacement  of  Washington,  and  for  the  elevation 
of  the  shallow  and  ill-balanced  Gates  to  the  supreme 
command  of  the  armies.  It  is  probable  that  several 
men  of  prominence  in  the  army,  in  congress,  and  in 
the  several  state-governments,  were  drawn  into  this  ca 
bal,  although  most  of  them  had  too  much  caution  to 
commit  themselves  to  it  by  any  documentary  evidence 
which  could  rise  up  and  destroy  them  in  case  of  its 
failure.  The  leaders  in  the  plot  very  naturally  felt  the 
great  importance  of  securing  the  secret  support  of  men 
of  high  influence  in  Washington's  own  state  ;  and  by 
many  it  was  then  believed  that  they  had  actually  won 
over  no  less  a  man  than  Richard  Henry  Lee.  Of 
course,  if  also  the  sanction  of  Governor  Patrick  Henry 
could  be  secured,  a  prodigious  advantage  would  be 
gained.  Accordingly,  from  the  town  of  York,  in  Penn 
sylvania,  whither  congress  had  fled  on  the  advance  of 
the  enemy  towards  Philadelphia,  the  following  letter 
was  sent  to  him,  —  a  letter  written  in  a  disguised  hand, 
without  signature,  but  evidently  by  a  personal  friend, 
a  man  of  position,  and  a  master  of  the  art  of  plausible 

statement :  — 

"  YORKTOWN,  12  January,  1778. 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  The  common  danger  of  our  country 
first  brought  you  and  me  together.  I  recollect  with 

latter  are  before  me  as  I  write.  As  justifying  the  statement,  made  in 
the  text,  I  would  refer  to  his  letters  of  Aug.  30,  1777;  of  Oct.  29, 
1777;  of  Oct.  30,  1777;  of  Dec.  6,  1777  ;  of  Dec.  9,  1777;  of  Jan.  20, 
1778  ;  of  Jan.  28,  1778 ;  and  of  June  18,  1778. 


216  PATRICK  HENRY. 

pleasure  the  influence  of  your  conversation  and  elo 
quence  upon  the  opinions  of  this  country  in  the  begin 
ning  of  the  present  controversy.  You  first  taught  us  to 
shake  off  our  idolatrous  attachment  to  royalty,  and  to 
oppose  its  encroachments  upon  our  liberties,  with  our 
very  lives.  By  these  means  you  saved  us  from  ruin. 
The  independence  of  America  is  the  offspring  of  that 
liberal  spirit  of  thinking  and  acting,  which  followed  the 
destruction  of  the  sceptres  of  kings,  and  the  mighty 
power  of  Great  Britain. 

"  But,  Sir,  we  have  only  passed  the  Red  Sea.  A 
dreary  wilderness  is  still  before  us ;  and  unless  a  Moses 
or  a  Joshua  are  raised  up  in  our  behalf,  we  must  perish 
before  we  reach  the  promised  land.  AVe  have  nothing 
to  fear  from  our  enemies  on  the  way.  General  Howe, 
it  is  true,  has  taken  Philadelphia ;  but  he  has  only 
changed  his  prison.  His  dominions  are  bounded  on  all 
sides  by  his  out-sentries.  America  can  only  be  undone 
by  herself.  She  looks  up  to  her  councils  and  arms  for 
protection  ;  but,  alas  !  what  are  they  ?  Her  representa 
tion  in  congress  dwindled  to  only  twenty-one  members ; 
her  Adams,  her  Wilson,  her  Henry  are  no  more  among 
them.  Her  councils  weak,  and  partial  remedies  applied 
constantly  for  universal  diseases.  Her  army,  what  is 
it?  A  major-general  belonging  to  it  called  it  a  few 
days  ago,  in  my  hearing,  a  mob.  Discipline  unknown 
or  wholly  neglected.  The  quartermaster's  and  commis 
sary's  departments  filled  with  idleness,  ignorance,  and 
peculation ;  our  hospitals  crowded  with  six  thousand 
sick,  but  half  provided  with  necessaries  or  accommoda 
tions,  and  more  dying  in  them  in  one  month  than  per 
ished  in  the  field  during  the  whole  of  the  last  cam 
paign.  The  money  depreciating,  without  any  effectual 


GOVERNOR  A   SECOND    TIME.  217 

measures  being  taken  to  raise  it ;  the  country  distracted 
with  the  Don  Quixote  attempts  to  regulate  the  price  of 
provisions  ;  an  artificial  famine  created  by  it,  and  a  real 
one  dreaded  from  it ;  the  spirit  of  the  people  failing 
through  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  causes 
of  our  misfortunes  ;  many  submitting  daily  to  General 
Howe  ;  and  more  wishing  to  do  it,  only  to  avoid  the 
calamities  which  threaten  our  country.  But  is  our  case 
desperate  ?  By  no  means.  We  have  wisdom,  virtue, 
and  strength  enough  to  save  us,  if  they  could  be  called 
into  action.  The  northern  army  has  shown  us  what 
Americans  are  capable  of  doing  with  a  General  at  their 
head.  The  spirit  of  the  southern  army  is  no  way  in 
ferior  to  the  spirit  of  the  northern.  A  Gates,  a  Lee,  or 
a  Conway,  would  in  a  few  weeks  render  them  an  irre 
sistible  body  of  men.  The  last  of  the  above  officers  has 
accepted  of  the  new  office  of  inspector-general  of  our 
army,  in  order  to  reform  abuses ;  but  the  remedy  is  only 
a  palliative  one.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  a  friend  he 
says,  *  A  great  and  good  God  hath  decreed  America  to 
be  free,  or  the  [General]  and  weak  counsellors  would 
have  ruined  her  long  ago.'  You  may  rest  assured  of 
each  of  the  facts  related  in  this  letter.  The  author  of 
it  is  one  of  your  Philadelphia  friends.  A  hint  of  his 
name,  if  found  out  by  the  handwriting,  must  not  be 
mentioned  to  your  most  intimate  friend.  Even  the 
letter  must  be  thrown  into  the  fire.  But  some  of  its 
contents  ought  to  be  made  public,  in  order  to  awaken, 
enlighten,  and  alarm  our  country.  I  rely  upon  your 
prudence,  and  am,  dear  Sir,  with  my  usual  attachment 
to  you,  and  to  our  beloved  independence, 

"  Yours  sincerely  " 


218  PATRICK  HENRY. 

How  was  Patrick  Henry  to  deal  with  such  a  letter 
as  this  ?  Even  though  he  should  reject  its  reasoning, 
and  spurn  the  temptation  with  which  it  assailed  him, 
should  he  merely  burn  it,  and  be  silent?  The  incident 
furnished  a  fair  test  of  his  loyalty  in  friendship,  his 
faith  in  principle,  his  soundness  of  judgment,  his  clear 
and  cool  grasp  of  the  public  situation,  —  in  a  word,  of 
his  manliness  and  his  statesmanship.  This  is  the  way 
in  which  he  stood  the  test :  — 

PATRICK    HENRY    TO    GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

"  WILLIAMSBURG,  20  February,  1778. 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  You  will,  no  doubt,  be  surprised  at 
seeing  the  enclosed  letter,  in  which  the  encomiums  be 
stowed  on  me  are  as  undeserved,  as  the  censures  aimed 
at  you  are  unjust.  I  am  sorry  there  should  be  one 
man  who  counts  himself  my  friend,  who  is  not  yours. 

"  Perhaps  T  give  you  needless  trouble  in  handing  you 
this  paper.  The  writer  of  it  may  be  too  insignificant 
to  deserve  any  notice.  If  I  knew  this  to  be  the  case,  I 
should  not  have  intruded  on  your  time,  which  is  so 
precious.  But  there  may  possibly  be  some  scheme  or 
party  forming  to  your  prejudice.  The  enclosed  leads 
to  such  a  suspicion.  Believe  me,  Sir,  I  have  too  high 
a  sense  of  the  obligations  America  has  to  you,  to  abet 
or  countenance  so  unworthy  a  proceeding.  The  most 
exalted  merit  has  ever  been  found  to  attract  envy. 
But  I  please  myself  with  the  hope,  that  the  same  for 
titude  and  greatness  of  mind,  which  have  hitherto 
braved  all  the  difficulties  and  dangers  inseparable  from 
your  station,  will  rise  superior  to  every  attempt  of  the 
envious  partisan.  I  really  cannot  tell  who  is  the  writer 
of  this  letter,  which  not  a  little  perplexes  me.  The 
handwriting  is  altogether  strange  to  me. 


GOVERNOR  A   SECOND    TIME.  219 

"  To  give  you  the  trouble  of  this  gives  me  pain.  It 
would  suit  ray  inclination  better  to  give  you  some  as 
sistance  in  the  great  business  of  the  war.  But  I  will 
not  conceal  anything  from  you,  by  which  you  may  be 
affected ;  for  I  really  think  your  personal  welfare  and 
the  happiness  of  America  are  intimately  connected.  I 
beg  you  will  be  assured  of  that  high  regard  and  esteem 
with  which  I  ever  am,  dear  Sir,  your  affectionate  friend 
and  very  humble  servant." 

Fifteen  days  passed  after  the  despatch  of  that  letter, 
when,  having  as  yet  no  answer,  but  with  a  heart  still 
full  of  anxiety  respecting  this  mysterious  and  ill-boding 
cabal  against  his  old  friend,  Governor  Henry  wrote 
again  :  — 

PATRICK    HENRY   TO    GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

"  WILLIAMSBURG,  5  March,  1778. 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  By  an  express,  which  Colonel  Finnie 
sent  to  camp,  I  enclosed  to  you  an  anonymous  letter 
which  I  hope  got  safe  to  hand.  I  am  anxious  to  hear 
something  that  will  serve  to  explain  the  strange  affair, 
which  I  am  now  informed  is  taken  up  respecting  you. 
Mr.  Custis  has  just  paid  us  a  visit,  and  by  him  I  learn 
sundry  particulars  concerning  General  Mifflin,  that 
much  surprised  me.  It  is  very  hard  to  trace  the 
schemes  and  windings  of  the  enemies  to  America.  I 
really  thought  that  man  its  friend  ;  however,  I  am  too 
far  from  him  to  judge  of  his  present  temper. 

While  you  face  the  armed  enemies  of  our  liberty  in 
the  field,  and  by  the  favor  of  God  have  been  kept  un 
hurt,  I  trust  your  country  will  never  harbor  in  her 
bosom  the  miscreant,  who  would  ruin  her  best  supporter. 


220  PATRICK  HENRY. 

I  wish  not  to  flatter ;  but  when  arts,  unworthy  honest 
men,  are  used  to  defame  and  traduce  you,  I  think  it  not 
amiss,  but  a  duty,  to  assure  you  of  that  estimation  in 
which  the  public  hold  you.  Not  that  I  think  any  testi 
mony  I  can  bear  is  necessary  for  your  support,  or  pri 
vate  satisfaction  ;  for  a  bare  recollection  of  what  is  past 
must  give  you  sufficient  pleasure  in  every  circumstance 
of  life.  But  I  cannot  help  assuring  you,  on  this  oc 
casion,  of  the  high  sense  of  gratitude  which  all  ranks 
of  men  in  this  our  native  country  bear  to  you.  It  will 
give  me  sincere  pleasure  to  manifest  my  regards,  and 
render  my  best  services  to  you  or  yours.  I  do  not  like 
to  make  a  parade  of  these  things,  and  I  know  you  are 
not  fond  of  it ;  however,  I  hope  the  occasion  will  plead 
my  excuse.  Wishing  you  all  possible  felicity,  I  am,  my 
dear  Sir,  your  ever  affectionate  friend  and  very  humble 
servant." 

Before  Washington  received  this  second  letter,  he 
had  already  begun  to  write  the  following  reply  to  the 
first :  - 

GEORGE    WASHINGTON    TO    PATRICK    HENRY. 

"  VALLEY  FORGE,  27  March,  1778. 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  About  eight  days  ago  I  was  honored 
with  your  favor  of  the  20th  ultimo.  Your  friendship, 
Sir,  in  transmitting  to  me  the  anonymous  letter  you  had 
received,  lays  me  under  the  most  grateful  obligations, 
and  if  my  acknowledgements  can  be  due  for  anything 
more,  it  is  for  the  polite  and  delicate  terms  in  which 
you  have  been  pleased  to  communicate  the  matter. 

"  I  have  ever  been  happy  in  supposing  that  I  had  a 
place  in  your  esteem,  and  the  proof  you  have  afforded 


GOVERNOR  A  SECOND  TIME.  221 

on  this  occasion  makes  me  peculiarly  so.  The  favorable 
light  in  which  you  hold  me  is  truly  flattering ;  but  I 
should  feel  much  regret,  if  I  thought  the  happiness  of 
America  so  intimately  connected  with  my  personal  wel 
fare,  as  you  so  obligingly  seem  to  consider  it.  All  I  can 
say  is,  that  she  has  ever  had,  and  I  trust  she  ever  will 
have,  my  honest  exertions  to  promote  her  interest.  I 
cannot  hope  that  my  services  have  been  the  best ;  but 
my  heart  tells  me  they  have  been  the  best  that  I  could 
render. 

"  That  I  may  have  erred  in  using  the  means  in  my 
power  for  accomplishing  the  objects  of  the  arduous, 
exalted  station  with  which  I  am  honored,  I  cannot 
doubt ;  nor  do  I  wish  my  conduct  to  be  exempted  from 
reprehension  farther  than  it  may  deserve.  Error  is  the 
portion  of  humanity,  and  to  censure  it,  whether  com 
mitted  by  this  or  that  public  character,  is  the  prerogative 
of  freemen.  However,  being  intimately  acquainted  with 
the  man  I  conceive  to  be  the  author  of  the  letter  trans 
mitted,  and  having  always  received  from  him  the  strong 
est  professions  of  attachment  and  regard,  I  am  con 
strained  to  consider  him  as  not  possessing,  at  least,  a 
great  degree  of  candor  and  sincerity,  though  his  views 
in  addressing  you  should  have  been  the  result  of  con 
viction,  and  founded  in  motives  of  public  good.  This  is 
not  the  only  secret,  insidious,  attempt,  that  has  been 
made  to  wound  my  reputation.  There  have  been  others 
equally  base,  cruel,  and  ungenerous,  because  conducted 
with  as  little  frankness,  and  proceeding  from  views, 
perhaps,  as  personally  interested.  I  am,  dear  Sir,  with 
great  esteem  and  regard,  your  much  obliged  friend,  etc." 

The  writing  of  the  foregoing  letter  was  not  finished, 


222  PATRICK  HENRY. 

when  Governor  Henry's  second  letter  reached  him  ;  and 
this  additional  proof  of  friendship  so  touched  the  heart 
of  Washington  that,  on  the  next  day,  he  wrote  again, 
this  time  with  far  less  self-restraint  than  before :  — 

GEORGE    WASHINGTON    TO    PATRICK    HENRY. 

"  CAMP,  28  March,  1778. 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  Just  as  I  was  about  to  close  my 
letter  of  yesterday,  your  favor  of  the  5th  instant  came 
to  hand.  I  can  only  thank  you  again,  in  the  language 
of  the  most  undissembled  gratitude,  for  your  friendship; 
and  assure  you,  that  the  indulgent  disposition,  which 
Virginia  in  particular,  and  the  States  in  general,  enter 
tain  towards  me,  gives  me  the  most  sensible  pleasure. 
The  approbation  of  my  country  is  what  I  wish  ;  and  as 
far  as  my  abilities  and  opportunities  will  permit,  I  hope 
I  shall  endeavor  to  deserve  it.  It  is  the  highest  reward 
to  a  feeling  mind  ;  and  happy  are  they,  who  so  conduct 
themselves  as  to  merit  it. 

"  The  anonymous  letter  with  which  you  were  pleased 
to  favor  me,  was  written  by  Dr.  Rush,  so  far  as  I  can 
judge  from  a  similitude  of  hands.  This  man  has  been 
elaborate  and  studied  in  his  professions  of  regard  for 
me ;  and  long  since  the  letter  to  you.  My  caution  to 
avoid  anything  which  could  injure  the  service,  pre 
vented  me  from  communicating,  but  to  a  very  few  of 
my  friends,  the  intrigues  of  a  faction  which  I  know  was 
formed  against  me,  since  it  might  serve  to  publish  our 
internal  dissensions ;  but  their  own  restless  zeal  to  ad 
vance  their  views  has  too  clearly  betrayed  them,  and 
made  concealment  on  my  part  fruitless.  I  cannot  pre 
cisely  mark  the  extent  of  their  views,  but  it  appeared, 
in  general,  that  General  Gates  was  to  be  exalted  on  the 


GOVERNOR  A   SECOND   TIME.  223 

ruin  of  my  reputation  and  influence.  This  I  am  author 
ized  to  say,  from  undeniable  facts  in  my  own  possession, 
from  publications,  the  evident  scope  of  which  could  not 
be  mistaken,  and  from  private  detractions  industriously 
circulated.  General  Mifflin,  it  is  commonly  supposed, 
bore  the  second  part  in  the  cabal ;  and  General  Con  way, 
I  know,  was  a  very  active  and  malignant  partisan  ;  but 
I  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  their  machinations 
have  recoiled  most  sensibly  upon  themselves.  With 
sentiments  of  great  esteem  and  regard,  I  am,  dear  Sir, 
your  affectionate  humble  servant."  1 

This  incident  in  the  lives  of  Washington  and  of 
Patrick  Henry  is  to  be  noted  by  us,  not  only  for  its 
own  exquisite  delicacy  and  nobility,  but  likewise  as  the 
culminating  fact  in  the  growth  of  a  very  deep  and  true 
friendship  between  the  two  men,  —  a  friendship  which 
seems  to  have  begun  many  years  before,  probably  in 
the  house  of  burgesses,  and  which  lasted  with  increas 
ing  strength  and  tenderness,  and  with  but  a  single  epi 
sode  of  estrangement,  during  the  rest  of  their  lives. 
Moreover,  he  who  tries  to  interpret  the  later  career  of 
Patrick  Henry,  especially  after  the  establishment  of  the 
government  under  the  constitution,  and  who  leaves  out 
of  the  account  Henry's  profound  friendship  for  Wash 
ington,  and  the  basis  of  moral  and  intellectual  congen 
iality  on  which  that  friendship  rested,  will  lose  an  im 
portant  clew  to  the  perfect  naturalness  and  consistency 
of  Henry's  political  course  during  his  last  years.  A 
fierce  partisan  outcry  was  then  raised  against  him  in 
Virginia,  and  he  was  bitterly  denounced  as  a  political 
apostate,  simply  because,  in  the  parting  of  the  ways  of 
i  Writings  of  Washington,  v.  495-497;  512-515. 


224  PATRICK  HENRY. 

Washington  and  of  Jefferson,  Patrick  Henry  no  longer 
walked  with  Jefferson.  In  truth,  Patrick  Henry  was 
never  Washington's  follower  nor  Jefferson's :  he  was 
no  man's  follower.  From  the  beginning,  he  had  al 
ways  done  for  himself  his  own  thinking,  whether  right 
or  wrong.  At  the  same  time,  a  careful  student  of  the 
three  men  may  see  that,  in  his  thinking,  Patrick  Henry 
had  a  closer  and  a  truer  moral  kinship  with  Washington 
than  with  Jefferson.  At  present,  however,  we  pause 
before  the  touching  incident  that  has  just  been  narrated 
in  the  relations  between  Washington  and  Henry,  in  or 
der  to  mark  its  bearing  on  their  subsequent  intercourse. 
Washington,  in  whose  nature  confidence  was  a  plant  of 
slow  growth,  and  who  was  quick  neither  to  love  nor  to 
cease  from  loving,  never  forgot  that  proof  of  his  friend's 
friendship.  Thenceforward,  until  that  one  year  in  which 
they  both  died,  the  letters  which  passed  between  them, 
while  never  effusive,  were  evidently  the  letters  of  two 
strong  men  who  loved  and  trusted  each  other  without 
reserve. 

Not  long  before  the  close  of  the  governor's  second 
term  in  office,  he  had  occasion  to  write  to  Richard 
Henry  Lee  two  letters,  which  are  of  considerable  in 
terest,  not  only  as  indicating  the  cordial  intimacy  be 
tween  these  two  great  rivals  in  oratory,  but  also  for 
the  light  they  throw  both  on  the  under-currents  of  bit 
terness  then  ruffling  the  politics  of  Virginia,  and  on 
Patrick  Henry's  attitude  towards  the  one  great  question 
at  that  time  uppermost  in  the  politics  of  the  nation. 
During  the  previous  autumn,  it  seems,  Lee  had  fallen 
into  great  disfavor  in  Virginia,  from  which,  however,  he 
had  so  far  emerged,  by  the  23d  of  January,  1778,  as  to 
be  then  reflected  to  congress,  to  fill  out  an  imexpired 


GOVERNOR  A   SECOND   TIME.  225 

term.1  Shortly  afterward,  however,  harsh  speech  against 
him  was  to  be  heard  in  Virginia  once  more,  of  which 
his  friend,  the  governor,  thus  informed  him,  in  a  let 
ter  dated  April  4,  1778  :  "You  are  again  traduced  by 
a  certain  set  who  have  drawn  in  others,  who  say  that 
you  are  engaged  in  a  scheme  to  discard  General  Wash 
ington.  I  know  you  too  well  to  suppose  that  you 
would  engage  in 'anything  not  evidently  calculated  to 
serve  the  cause  of  whiggism.  .  .  .  But  it  is  your  fate 
to  suffer  the  constant  attacks  of  disguised  tories  who 
take  this  measure  to  lessen  you.  Farewell,  my  dear 
friend.  In  praying  for  your  welfare,  I  pray  for  that 
of  my  country,  to  which  your  life  and  service  are  of  the 
last  moment."  2 

Furthermore,  on  the  30th  of  May,  the  general  as 
sembly  made  choice  of  their  delegates  in  congress  for 
the  following  year.  Lee  was  again  elected,  but  by  so 
small  a  vote  that  his  name  stood  next  to  the  lowest  on 
the  list.3  Concerning  this  stinging  slight,  he  appears 
to  have  spoken  in  his  next  letters  to  the  governor  ;  for, 
on  the  18th  of  June,  the  latter  addressed  to  him,  from 
Williamsburg,  this  reply  :  — 

**  MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Both  your  last  letters  came  to 
hand  to-day.  I  felt  for  you,  on  seeing  the  order  in 
which  the  balloting  placed  the  delegates  in  congress. 
It  is  an  effect  of  that  rancorous  malice  that  has  so  long 
followed  you,  through  that  arduous  path  of  duty  which 
you  have  invariably  travelled,  since  America  resolved 
to  resist  her  oppressors. 

1  Jour.  Va.  House  Del..  131. 

2  Given  in  Grigsby,  Va.  Conv.  0/1776.  142  note. 
8  Jour.  Va.  House  Del,  27,  33. 


226  PATRICK  HENRY. 

"  Is  it  any  pleasure  to  you  to  remark,  that  at  the  same 
era  in  which  these  men  figure  against  you,  public  spirit 
seems  to  have  taken  its  flight  from  Virginia  ?  It  is  too 
much  the  case  ;  for  the  quota  of  our  troops  is  not  half 
made  up,  and  no  chance  seems  to  remain  for  completing 
it.  The  assembly  voted  three  hundred  and  fifty  horse, 
and  two  thousand  men,  to  be  forthwith  raised,  and  to 
join  the  grand  army.  Great  bounties  are  offered  ;  but, 
I  fear,  the  only  effect  will  be  to  expose  our  state  to 
contempt,  —  for  I  believe  no  soldiers  will  enlist,  es 
pecially  in  the  infantry. 

*'  Can  you  credit  it  ?  —  no  effort  was  made  for  sup 
porting  or  restoring  public  credit.  I  pressed  it  warmly 
on  some,  but  in  vain.  This  is  the  reason  we  get  no 
soldiers. 

"  We  shall  issue  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  dollars  in 
cash  to  equip  the  cavalry,  and  their  time  is  to  expire 
at  Christmas.  I  believe  they  will  not  be  in  the  field  be 
fore  that  time. 

"  Let  not  congress  rely  on  Virginia  for  soldiers.  I 
tell  you  my  opinion  :  they  will  not  be  got  here,  until  a 
different  spirit  prevails." 

In  the  next  paragraph  of  his  letter,  the  governor 
passes  from  these  local  matters  to  what  was  then  the 
one  commanding  topic  in  national  affairs.  Lord  North's 
peace-commissioners  had  already  arrived,  and  were  seek 
ing  to  win  back  the  Americans  into  free  colonial  rela 
tions  with  the  mother-country,  and  away  from  their  new- 
formed  friendship  with  perfidious  France.  With  what 
energy  Patrick  Henry  was  prepared  to  reject  all  these 
British  blandishments,  may  be  read  in  the  passionate 
sentences  which  conclude  his  letter  :  "  I  look  at  the 


GOVERNOR  A   SECOND    TIME.  227 

past  condition  of  America,  as  at  a  dreadful  precipice, 
from  which  we  have  escaped  by  means  of  the  generous 
French,  to  whom  I  will  be  everlastingly  bound  by  the 
most  heartfelt  gratitude.  But  I  must  mistake  matters, 
if  some  of  those  men  who  traduce  you,  do  not  prefer 
the  offers  of  Britain.  You  will  have  a  different  game 
to  play  now  with  the  commissioners.  How  comes 
Governor  Johristone  there  ?  I  do  not  see  how  it  com 
ports  with  his  past  life. 

"  Surely  congress  will  never  recede  from  our  French 
friends.  Salvation  to  America  depends  upon  our  hold 
ing  fast  our  attachment  to  them.  I  shall  date  our  ruin 
from  the  moment  that  it  is  exchanged  for  anything 
Great  Britain  can  say,  or  do.  She  can  never  be  cordial 
with  us.  Baffled,  defeated,  disgraced  by  her  colonies, 
she  will  ever  meditate  revenge.  We  can  find  no  safety 
but  in  her  ruin,  or,  at  least,  in  her  extreme  humiliation  ; 
which  has  not  happened,  and  cannot  happen,  until  she 
is  deluged  with  blood,  or  thoroughly  purged  by  a  revo 
lution,  which  shall  wipe  from  existence  the  present  king 
with  his  connections,  and  the  present  system  with  those 
who  aid  and  abet  it. 

"  For  God's  sake,  my  dear  Sir,  quit  not  the  councils 
of  your  country,  until  you  see  us  forever  disjoined  from 
Great  Britain.  The  old  leaven  still  works.  The  flesh- 
pots  of  Egypt  are  still  savory  to  degenerate  palates. 
Again  we  are  undone,  if  the  French  alliance  is  not  re 
ligiously  observed.  Excuse  my  freedom.  I  know  your 
love  to  our  country,  —  and  this  is  my  motive.  May 
Heaven  give  you  health  and  prosperity. 
"  I  am  yours  affectionately, 

"  PATRICK  HENRY."  1 

1  Lee,  Life  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  i.  195-196. 


228  PATRICK  HENRY. 

Before  coming  to  the  end  of  our  story  of  Governor 
Henry's  second  term,  it  should  be  mentioned  that  twice 
during  this  period  did  the  general  assembly  confide  to 
him  those  extraordinary  powers  which  by  many  were 
spoken  of  as  dictatorial ;  first,  on  the  22d  of  January, 
1778,1  and  again,  on  the  28th  of  May,  of  the  same 
year.2  Finally,  so  safe  had  been  this  great  trust  in 
his  hands,  and  so  efficiently  had  he  borne  himself,  in  all 
the  labors  and  responsibilities  of  his  high  office,  that, 
on  the  29th  of  May,  the  house  of  delegates,  by  resolu 
tion,  unanimously  elected  him  as  governor  for  a  third 
term,  —  an  act  in  which,  on  the  same  day,  the  senate 
voted  its  concurrence.  On  the  30th  of  May,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  from  the  committee  appointed  to  notify  the 
governor  of  his  reelection,  reported  to  the  house  the  fol 
lowing  answer:  "  Gentlemen,  —  The  general  assembly, 
in  again  electing  me  governor  of  this  commonwealth, 
have  done  me  very  signal  honor.  I  trust  that  their  con 
fidence,  thus  continued  in  me,  will  not  be  misplaced.  I 
beg  you  will  be  pleased,  gentlemen,  to  present  me  to 
the  general  assembly  in  terms  of  grateful  acknowledg 
ment  for  this  fresh  instance  of  their  favor  towards  me ; 
and  to  assure  them,  that  my  best  endeavors  shall  be 
used  to  promote  the  public  good,  in  that  station  to 
which  they  have  once  more  been  pleased  to  call  me." 8 

1  Jour.  Fa.  House  Del,  72,  81,  85,  125,  126. 

2  Ibid.  15,  16,  17. 

3  Ibid.  26, 30. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

THIRD    YEAR    IN    THE    GOVERNORSHIP. 

GOVERNOR  HENRY'S  third  official  year  was  marked, 
in  the  great  struggle  then  in  progress,  by  the  arrival  of 
the  French  fleet,  and  by  its  futile  attempts  to  be  of 
any  use  to  those  hard-pressed  rebels  whom  the  king  of 
France  had  undertaken  to  encourage  in  their  insubordi 
nation  ;  by  awful  scenes  of  carnage  and  desolation  in 
the  outlying  settlements  at  Wyoming,  Cherry  Valley, 
and  Schoharie  ;  by  British  predatory  expeditions  along 
the  Connecticut  coast ;  by  the  final  failure  and  depar 
ture  of  Lord  North's  peace-commissioners  ;  and  by  the 
transfer  of  the  chief  seat  of  war  to  the  south,  beginning 
with  the  capture  of  Savannah  by  the  British  on  the  29th 
of  December,  1778,  followed  by  their  initial  movement 
on  Charleston,  in  May,  1779.  In  the  month  just  men 
tioned,  likewise,  the  enemy,  under  command  of_Gen_eral 
Matthaws  and  of  $jr  George-Collier^  suddenly  swooped 
down  on  Virginia,  first  seizing  Portsmouth  and  Norfolk, 
and  then,  after  a  glorious  military  debauch  of  robbery, 
ruin,  rape,  and  murder,  and  after  spreading  terror  and 
anguish  among  the  undefended  populations  of  Suffolk, 
Kemp's  Landing,  Tanner's  Creek,  and  Gosport,  as  sud 
denly  gathered  up  their  booty,  and  went  back  in  great 
glee  to  New  York. 

In  the  autumn  of  1778,  the  governor  had  the  happi 
ness  to  hear  of  the  really  brilliant  success  of  the  expedi 
tion  which,  with  statesmanlike  sagacity,  he  had  sent  out 


230  PATRICK  HENRY. 

under  George  Rogers  Clark,  into  the  Illinois  country, 
in  the  early  part  of  the  year.1  Some  of  the  more  im 
portant  facts  connected  with  this  expedition,  he  thus  an 
nounced  to  the  Virginia  delegates  in  congress  :  — 

"  WILLJAMSBURG,  November  14,  1778. 

"  GENTLEMEN,  —  The  executive  power  of  this  state 
having  been  impressed  with  a  strong  apprehension  of 
incursions  on  the  frontier  settlements  from  the  savages 
situated  about  the  Illinois,  and  supposing  the  danger 
would  be  greatly  obviated  by  an  enterprise  against  the 
English  forts  and  possessions  in  that  country,  which 
were  well  known  to  inspire  the  savages  with  their 
bloody  purposes  against  us,  sent  a  detachment  of  militia, 
consisting  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  or  eighty  men 
commanded  by  Colonel  George  Rogers  Clark,  on  that 
service  some  time  last  spring.  By  dispatches  which  I 
have  just  received  from  Colonel  Clark,  it  appears  that 
his  success  has  equalled  the  most  sanguine  expectations. 
He  has  not  only  reduced  Fort  Chartres  and  its  depend 
encies,  but  has  struck  such  a  terror  into  the  Indian 
tribes  between  that  settlement  and  the  lakes  that  no 
less  than  five  of  them,  viz.,  the  Puans,  Sacks,  Renards, 
Powtowantanies,  and  Miamis,  who  had  received  the 
hatchet  from  the  English  emissaries,  have  submitted  to 
our  arms  all  their  English  presents,  and  bound  them 
selves  by  treaties  and  promises  to  be  peaceful  in  the 
future. 

"  The  great  Blackbird,  the  Chappowow  chief,  has 
also  sent  a  belt  of  peace  to  Colonel  Clark,  influenced, 
he  supposes,  by  the  dread  of  Detroit's  being  reduced  by 

1  Clark's  Campaign  in  the  Illinois,  95-97,  where  Governor  Henry' 
public  and  private  instructions  are  given  in  full. 


THIRD    YEAR  IN  THE   GOVERNORSHIP.        231 

American  arms.  This  latter  place,  according  to  Colonel 
Clark's  representation,  is  at  present  defended  by  so 
inconsiderable  a  garrison  and  so  scantily  furnished  with 
provisions,  for  which  they  must  be  still  more  distressed 
by  the  loss  of  supplies  from  the  Illinois,  that  it  might 
be  reduced  by  any  number  of  men  above  five  hundred. 
The  governor  of  that  place,  Mr.  Hamilton,  was  exert 
ing  himself  to  engage  the  savages  to  assist  him  in  re 
taking  the  places  that  had  fallen  into  our  hands  ;  but 
the  favorable  impression  made  on  the  Indians  in  general 
in  that  quarter,  the  influence  of  the  French  on  them, 
and  the  reeuforcement  of  their  militia  Colonel  Clark 
expected,  flattered  him  that  there  was  little  danger  to 
be  apprehended.  ...  If  the  party  under  Colonel  Clark 
can  cooperate  in  any  respect  with  the  measures  con 
gress  are  pursuing  or  have  in  view,  I  shall  with  pleasure 
give  him  the  necessary  orders.  In  order  to  improve 
and  secure  the  advantages  gained  by  Colonel  Clark,  I 
propose  to  support  him  with  a  reinforcement  of  militia. 
But  this  will  depend  on  the  pleasure  of  the  assembly, 
to  whose  consideration  the  measure  is  submitted. 

"  The  French  inhabitants  have  manifested  great  zeal 
and  attachment  to  our  cause,  and  insist  on  garrisons 
remaining  with  them  under  Colonel  Clark.  This  I 
am  induced  to  agrea  to,  because  the  safety  of  our  own 
frontiers  as  well  as  that  of  these  people  demands  a  com 
pliance  with  this  request.  Were  it  possible  to  secure 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  prevent  the  English  attempts  up 
that  river  by  seizing  some  post  on  it,  peace  with  the 
Indians  would  seem  to  me  to  be  secured. 

"  With  great  regard  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Gent?, 
"  Your  most  obedient  Servant, 

«  P.  HENRY."  1 
i  MS. 


232  PATRICK  HENRY. 

During  the  autumn  session  of  the  general  assembly, 
that  body  showed  its  continued  confidence  in  the  gov 
ernor  by  passing  several  acts  conferring  on  him  extraor 
dinary  powers,  in  addition  to  those  already  bestowed.1 

A  letter  which  the  governor  wrote  at  this  period  to 
the  president  of  congress,  respecting  military  aid  from 
Virginia  to  states  further  south,  may  give  us  some  idea, 
not  only  of  his  own  practical  discernment  in  the  mat 
ters  involved,  but  of  the  confusion  which,  in  those  days, 
often  attended  military  plans  issuing  from  a  many- 
headed  executive :  — 

"  WILLIAMSBURG,  November  28,  1778. 

"  SIR,  —  Your  favor  of  the  1  Gth  instant  is  come  to 
hand,  together  with  the  acts  of  congress  of  the  26th  of 
August  for  establishing  provision  for  soldiers  and  sail 
ors  maimed  or  disabled  in  the  public  service,  —  of  the 
26th  of  September  for  organizing  the  treasury,  a  pro 
clamation  for  a  general  thanksgiving,  and  tliree  copies 
of  the  alliance  between  his  most  Christian  Majesty  and 
these  United  States. 

"  I  lost  no  time  in  laying  your  letter  before  the  privy 
council,  and  in  deliberating  with  them  on  the  subject 
of  sending  1,000  militia  to  Charlestown,  South  Carolina. 
I  beg  to  assure  congress  of  the  great  zeal  of  every 
member  of  the  executive  here  to  give  full  efficacy  to 
their  designs  on  every  occasion.  But  on  the  present, 
I  am  very  sorry  to  observe,  that  obstacles  great  and 
I  fear  unsurmountable  are  opposed  to  the  immediate 
march  of  the  men.  Upon  requisition  to  the  deputy 
quartermaster-general  in  this  department  for  tents,  ket 
tles,  blankets,  and  wagons,  he  informs  they  cannot  be 

1  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  30,  36,  66  ;  ako  Hening,  ix.  474-476;  477- 
478;  530-532;  584-585. 


THIRD    YEAR   IN   THE    GOVERNORSHIP.      233 

had.  The  season  when  the  march  must  begin  will  be 
severe  and  inclement,  and,  without  the  forementioned 
necessaries,  impracticable  to  men  indifferently  clad  and 
equipped  as  they  are  in  the  present  general  scarcity  of 
clothes. 

"  The  council,  as  well  as  myself,  are  not  a  little  per 
plexed  on  comparing  this  requisition  to  defend  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  from  the  assaults  of  the  enemy, 
with  that  made  a  few  days  past  for  galleys  to  conquer 
East  Florida.  The  galleys  have  orders  to  rendezvous 
at  Charlestown,  which  I  was  taught  to  consider  as  a 
place  of  acknowledged  safety  ;  and  I  beg  leave  to  ob 
serve,  that  there  seems  some  degree  of  inconsistency 
in  marching  militia  such  a  distance  in  the  depth  of  win 
ter,  under  ^the  want  of  necessaries,  to  defend  a  place 
which  the  former  measures  seemed  to  declare  safe. 

"  The  act  of  assembly  whereby  it  is  made  lawful  to 
order  their  march,  confines  the  operations  to  measures 
merely  defensive  to  a  sister  state,  and  of  whose  danger 
there  is  certain  information  received. 

"  However,  as  congress  have  not  been  pleased  to  ex 
plain  the  matters  herein  alluded  to,  and  altho'  a  good 
deal  of  perplexity  remains  with  me  on  the  subject,  I 
have  by  advice  of  the  privy  council  given  orders  for 
1,000  men  to  be  instantly  got  into  readiness  to  march 
to  Charlestown,  and  they  will  march  as  soon  as  they 
are  furnished  with  tents,  kettles,  and  wagons.  In  the 
mean  time,  if  intelligence  is  received  that  their  march 
is  essential  to  the  preservation  of  either  of  the  states  of 
South  Carolina  or  Georgia  the  men  will  encounter  every 
difficulty,  and  have  orders  to  proceed  in  the  best  way 
they  can  without  waiting  to  be  supplied  with  those 
necessaries  commonly  afforded  to  troops  even  on  a  sum 
mer's  march. 


234  PATRICK  HENRY. 

"  I  have  to  beg  that  congress  will  please  to  remember 
the  state  of  embarrassment  in  which  I  must  necessarily 
remain  with  respect  to  the  ordering  galleys  to  Charles- 
town,  in  their  way  to  invade  Florida,  while  the  militia 
are  getting  ready  to  defend  the  states  bordering  on  it, 
and  that  they  will  please  to  favor  me  with  the  earliest 
intelligence  of  every  circumstance  that  is  to  influence 
the  measures  either  offensive  or  defensive. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  and 
very  humble  servant, 

"  P.  HENRY."  1 

By  the  early  spring  of  1779,  it  became  still  more 
apparent  that  the  purpose  of  the  enemy  was  to  shift 
the  scene  of  their  activity  from  the  middle  states  to  the 
south,  and  that  Virginia,  whose  soil  had  never  thus  far 
been  bruised  by  the  tread  of  a  hostile  army,  must  soon 
experience  that  dire  calamity.  Perhaps  no  one  saw 
this  more  clearly  than  did  Governor  Henry.  At  the 
same  time,  he  also  saw  that  Virginia  must  in  part  de 
fend  herself  by  helping  to  dei'end  her  sister  states  at  the 
south,  across  whose  territories  the  advance  of  the  enemy 
into  Virginia  was  likely  to  be  attempted.  His  clear 
grasp  of  the  military  situation,  in  all  the  broad  relations 
of  his  own  btate  to  it,  is  thus  revealed  in  a  letter  to 
Washington,  dated  at  Williamsburg,  13th  of  March, 
1779:  "My  last  accounts  from  the  south  are  unfavor 
able.  Georgia  is  said  to  be  in  full  possession  of  the  en 
emy,  and  South  Carolina  in  great  danger.  The  number 
of  disaffected  there  is  said  to  be  formidable,  and  the  Creek 
Indians  Inclining  against  us.  One  thousand  militia  are 
ordered  thither  from  our  southern  counties  ;  but  a  doubt 
i  MS. 


THIRD  YEAR  IN  THE  GOVERNORSHIP.   235 

is  started  whether  they  are  by  law  obliged  to  march.  I 
have  also  proposed  a  scheme  to  embody  volunteers  for 
this  service ;  but  I  fear  the  length  of  the  march,  and  a 
general  scarcity  of  bread,  which  prevails  in  some  parts 
of  North  Carolina  and  this  state,  may  impede  this  ser 
vice.  About  five  hundred  militia  are  ordered  down  the 
Tennessee  River,  to  chastise  some  new  settlements  of 
renegade  Cherokees  that  infest  our  south-western  fron 
tier,  and  prevent  our  navigation  on  that  river,  from 
which  we  began  to  hope  for  great  advantages.  Our 
militia  have  full  possession  of  the  Illinois  and  the  posts 
on  the  Wabash  ;  and  I  am  not  without  hopes  that  the 
same  party  may  overawe  the  Indians  as  far  as  Detroit. 
They  are  independent  of  General  Mclntosh,  whose  num 
bers,  although  upwards  of  two  thousand,  I  think  could 
not  make  any  great  progress,  on  account,  it  is  said,  of 
the  route  they  took,  and  the  lateness  of  the  season. 

"  The  conquest  of  Illinois  and  Wabash  was  effected 
with  less  than  two  hundred  men,  who  will  soon  be  re- 
enforced  ;  and,  by  holding  posts  on  the  back  of  the  In 
dians,  it  is  hoped  may  intimidate  them.  Forts  Natchez 
and  Morishac  are  again  in  the  enemy's  hands ;  and 
from  thence  they  infest  and  ruin  our  trade  on  the 
Mississippi,  on  which  river  the  Spaniards  wish  to  open 
a  very  interesting  commerce  with  us.  I  have  requested 
congress,  to  authorize  the  conquest  of  those  two  posts, 
as  the  possession  of  them  will  give  a  colorable  pretence 
to  retain  all  West  Florida,  when  a  treaty  may  be 
opened."  1 

Within  two  months  after  that  letter  was  written,  the 
dreaded  war -ships  of  the  enemy  were  ploughing  the 
waters  of  Virginia :  it  was  the  sorrow-bringing  expedi- 
i  Sparks,  Corr.  Rev.,  ii.  261-262. 


236  PATRICK  HENRY. 

tion  of  Matthews  and  Sir  George  Collier.  The  news  of 
their  arrival  was  thus  conveyed  by  Governor  Henry  to 
the  president  of  congress  :  — 

"  WILLIAMSBURG,  11  May,  1779. 

"  SIR,  —  On  Saturday  last,  in  the  evening,  a  British 
fleet  amounting  to  about  thirty  sail  .  .  .  came  into  the 
Bay  of  Chesapeake,  and  the  next  day  proceeded  to 
Hampton  Road,  where  they  anchored  and  remained 
quiet  until  yesterday  about  noon,  when  several  of  the 
ships  got  under  way,  and  proceeded  towards  Ports 
mouth,  which  place  I  have  no  doubt  they  intend  to  at 
tack  by  water  or  by  land  or  by  both,  as  they  have  many 
flat-bottomed  boats  with  them  for  the  purpose  of  landing 
their  troops.  As  I  too  well  know  the  weakness  of  that 
garrison,  I  am  in  great  pain  for  the  consequences,  there 
being  great  quantities  of  merchandise,  the  property  of 
French  merchants  and  others  in  this  state,  at  that  place, 
as  well  as  considerable  quantities  of  military  stores, 
which,  tho'  measures  some  time  since  were  taken  to 
remove,  may  nevertheless  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands. 
Whether  they  may  hereafter  intend  to  fortify  and  main 
tain  this  post  is  at  present  unknown  to  me,  but  the 
consequences  which  will  result  to  this  state  and  to  the 
United  States  finally  if  such  a  measure  should  be 
adopted  must  be  obvious.  Whether  it  may  be  in  the 
power  of  congress  to  adopt  any  measures  which  can  in 
any  manner  counteract  the  design  of  the  enemy  is  sub 
mitted  to  their  wisdom.  At  present,  I  cannot  avoid 
intimating  that  I  have  the  greatest  reason  to  think  that 
many  vessels  from  France  with  public  and  private  mer 
chandise  may  unfortunately  arrive  while  the  enemy  re 
main  in  perfect  possession  of  the  Bay  of  Chesapeake, 
and  fall  victims  unexpectedly. 


THIRD    YEAR  IN  THE   GOVERNORSHIP.      237 

"  Every  precaution  will  be  taken  to  order  lookout 
boats  on  the  sea-coasts  to  furnish  proper  intelligence  ; 
but  the  success  attending  this  necessary  measure  will  be 
precarious  in  the  present  situation  of  things."  l 

On  the  next  day,  the  governor  had  still  heavier 
tidings  for  the  same  correspondent :  — 

"  WILLIAMSBURG,  May  12,  1779. 

"  SIR,  —  I  addressed  you  yesterday  upon  a  subject  of 
the  greatest  consequence.  The  last  night  brought  me 
the  fatal  account  of  Portsmouth  being  in  possession 
of  the  enemy.  Their  force  was  too  great  to  be  resisted, 
and  therefore  the  fort  was  evacuated  after  destroying 
one  capital  ship  belonging  to  the  state  and  one  or  two 
private  ones  loaded  with  tobacco.  Goods  and  mer 
chandise,  however,  of  very  great  value  fall  into  the 
enemy's  hands.  If  congress  could  by  solicitations  pro 
cure  a  fleet  superior  to  the  enemy's  force  to  enter 
Chesapeake  at  this  critical  period,  the  prospect  of  gain 
and  advantage  would  be  great  indeed.  I  have  the  honor 
to  be,  with  the  greatest  regard,  Sir, 

"  Your  most  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

"  P.  HENRY."  2 

To  meet  this  dreadful  invasion,  the  governor  at 
tempted  to  arouse  and  direct  vigorous  measures,  in  part 
by  a  proclamation,  on  the  14th  of  May,  announcing  to 
the  people  of  Virginia  the  facts  of  the  case,  "  and  re 
quiring  the  county-lieutenants  and  other  military  offi 
cers  in  the  commonwealth,  and  especially  those  on  the 
navigable  waters,  to  hold  their  respective  militias  in 
readiness  to  oppose  the  attempts  of  the  enemy,  wher« 
ever  they  might  be  made."  3 

IMS.  2  MS.  8  Burk,  Hist.  Va.,  iv.  338. 


238  PATRICK  HENRY. 

On  the  21st  of  the  month,  in  a  letter  to  the  president 
of  congress,  he  reported  the  havoc  then  wrought  by  the 
enemy  :  — 

"WILLIAMSBURG,  May  21,  1779. 

"  SIR,  —  Being  in  the  greatest  haste  to  dispatch  your 
express,  I  have  not  time  to  give  you  any  very  partic 
ular  information  concerning  the  present  invasion.  Let 
it  suffice  therefore  to  inform  congress  that  the  number 
of  thb  enemy's  ships  are  nearly  the  same  as  was  men 
tioned  in  my  former  letter  ;  with  regard  to  the  number 
of  the  troops  which  landed  and  took  Portsmouth,  and 
afterwards  proceeded  and  burnt,  plundered,  and  de 
stroyed  Suffolk,  committing  various  barbarities,  etc.,  we 
are  still  ignorant,  as  the  accounts  from  the  deserters  dif 
fer  widely ;  perhaps,  however,  it  may  not  exceed  2,000 
or  2,500  men. 

"  I  trust  that  a  sufficient  number  of  troops  are  em 
bodied  and  stationed  in  certain  proportions  at  this 
place,  York,  Hampton,  and  on  the  south  side  of  James 
River.  .  .  .  When  any  further  particulars  come  to 
my  knowledge  they  shall  be  communicated  to  congress 
without  delay. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  humble  servant, 

"  P.  HENRY. 

"  P.  S.  I  am  pretty  certain  that  the  land  forces  are 
commanded  by  Gen'l.  Matthews  and  the  fleet  by  Sir 
George  Collier." 1 

In  the  very  midst  of  this  ugly  storm,  it  was  required 
that  the  ship  of  state  should  undergo  a  change  of  com 
manders.     The   third  year  for  which  Governor  Henry 
had  been  elected  was  nearly  at  an  end.   There  were  some 
i  MS. 


THIRD    YEAR  IN  THE  GOVERNORSHIP.        239 

members  of  the  assembly  who  thought  him  eligible  as 
governor  for  still  another  year,  on  the  ground  that  his 
first  election  was  by  the  convention,  and  that  the  year 
of  office  which  that  body  gave  to  him  "  was  merely 
provisory,"  and  formed  no  proper  part  of  his  constitu 
tional  term.1  Governor  Henry  himself,  however,  could 
not  fail  to  perceive  the  unfitness  of  any  struggle  upon 
such  a  question  at  such  a  time,  as  well  as  the  futility 
which  would  attach  to  that  high  office,  if  held,  amid 
such  perils,  under  a  clouded  title.  Accordingly,  on  the 
28th  of  May,  he  cut  short  all  discussion,  by  sending 
to  the  speaker  of  the  house  of  delegates  the  following 
letter :  — 

"May  28,  1779. 

"  SIR,  —  The  term  for  which  I  had  the  honor  to  be 
elected  governor  by  the  late  assembly  being  just  about 
to  expire,  and  the  constitution,  as  I  think,  making  me 
ineligible  to  that  office,  I  take  the  liberty  to  communi 
cate  to  the  assembly  through  you,  Sir,  my  intention  to 
retire  in  four  or  five  days. 

"  I  have  thought  it  necessary  to  give  this  notification 
of  my  design,  in  order  that  the  assembly  may  have  the 
earliest  opportunity  of  deliberating  upon  the  choice  of  a 
successor  to  me  in  office. 

"  With  great  regard,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your 
most  obedient  servant,  P.  HENRY."  2 

On  the  1st  of  June,  Thomas  Jefferson  was  elected  to 
succeed  him  in  office,  but  by  a  majority  of  only  six 
votes  out  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight.3  On  the 
following  day  Patrick  Henry,  having  received  certain 

l  Burk,  Hist.  Fa.,  iv.  350.  2  Wirt,  225. 

8  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  29. 


240  PATRICK  HENRY. 

resolutions  from  the  general  assembly 1  commending 
him  for  his  conduct  while  governor,  graciously  closed 
this  chapter  of  his  official  life  by  the  following  letter  :  — 

"GENTLEMEN,  —  The  house  of  delegates  have  done 
me  very  great  honor  in  the  vote  expressive  of  their  ap 
probation  of  my  public  conduct.  I  beg  the  favor  of  you, 
gentlemen,  to  convey  to  that  honorable  house  my  most 
cordial  acknowledgments,  and  to  assure  them  that  I 
shall  ever  retain  a  grateful  remembrance  of  the  high 
honor  they  have  now  conferred  on  me."2 

In  the  midst  of  these  frank  voices  of  public  appreci 
ation  over  the  fidelity  and  efficiency  of  his  service  as 
governor,  there  were,  doubtless,  the  usual  murmurs  of 
partisan  criticism  or  of  personal  ill-will.  For  example, 
a  few  days  after  Jefferson  had  taken  his  seat  in  the 
stately  chair  which  Patrick  Henry  had  just  vacated,  St. 
George  Tucker,  in  a  letter  to  Theophilus  Bland,  gave 
expression  to  this  sneer :  "  Sub  rosa,  I  wish  his  ex 
cellency's  activity  may  be  equal  to  the  abilities  he  pos 
sesses  in  so  eminent  a  degree.  .  .  .  But  if  he  should 
tread  in  the  steps  of  his  predecessor,  there  is  not  much 
to  be  expected  from  the  brightest  talents."8  Over 
against  a  taunt  like  this,  one  can  scarcely  help  placing 
the  fact  that  the  general  of  the  armies  who,  for  three 
stern  years,  had  been  accustomed  to  lean  heavily  for 
help  on  this  governor  of  Virginia,  and  who  never  paid 
idle  compliments,  nevertheless  paid  many  a  tribute  to 
the  intelligence,  zeal,  and  vigorous  activity  of  Governor 
Henry's  administration^  Thus,  on  the  27th  of  Decem- 
?oer,  1777,  Washington  writes  to  him ;  "  In  several  o 

•  Burk,  Hist.  Pa.,  350  Jour,  Va,  House  Dei.,  32, 

-  Bland  Papers,  ii,  11 


THIRD    YEAR   IN   THE   GOVERNORSHIP.        241 

my  late  letters,  I  addressed  you  on  the  distress  of  the 
troops  for  want  of  clothing.  Your  ready  exertions  to 
relieve  them  have  given  me  the  highest  satisfaction."1 
On  the  19th  of  February,  1778,  Washington  again 
writes  to  him :  "  I  address  myself  to  you,  convinced 
that  our  alarming  distresses  will  engage  your  most  seri 
ous  consideration,  and  that  the  full  force  of  that  zeai 
and  vigor  you  have  manifested  upon  every  other  occa 
sion,  will  now  operate  for  our  relief,  in  a  matter  that 
so  nearly  affects  the  very  existence  of  our  contest."  2 
On  the  19th  of  April,  1778,  Washington  once  more 
writes  to  him  :  "  I  hold  myself  infinitely  obliged  to  the 
legislature  for  the  ready  attention  which  they  have  paid 
to  my  representation  of  the  wants  of  the  army,  and  to 
you  for  the  strenuous  manner  in  which  you  have  recom 
mended  to  the  people  an  observance  of  my  request." 3 
Finally,  if  any  men  had  even  better  opportunities  than 
Washington,  for  estimating  correctly  Governor  Henry's 
efficiency  in  his  great  office,  surely  those  men  were  his 
intimate  associates,  the  members  of  the  Virginia  legisla 
ture.  It  is  quite  possible  that  their  first  election  of  him 
as  governor  may  have  been  in  ignorance  of  his  real 
qualities  as  an  executive  officer  ;  but  this  cannot  be  said 
of  their  second,  and  of  their  third  elections  of  him,  each 
one  of  which  was  made,  as  we  have  seen,  without  one 
audible  lisp  of  opposition.  Is  it  to  be  believed  that,  if 
he  had  really  shown  that  lack  of  executive  efficiency 
which  St.  George  Tucker's  sneer  implies,  such  a  body 
of  men,  in  such  a  crisis  of  public  danger,  would  have 
twice  and  thrice  elected  him  to  the  highest  executive 
office  in  the  state,  and  that,  too,  without  one  dissenting 
vote  ?  To  say  so,  indeed,  is  to  fix  a  far  more  damning 
censure  upon  them  than  upon  him. 

i  MS.  2  MS.  3  MS. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

AT  HOME  AND  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  DELEGATES. 

THE  high  official  rank  which  Governor  Henry  had 
borne  during  the  first  three  years  of  American  inde 
pendence  was  so  impressive  to  the  imaginations  of  the 
French  allies  who  were  then  in  the  country,  that  some 
of  them  addressed  their  letters  to  him  as  "  Son  Altesse 
Royale,  Monsieur  Patrick  Henri,  Gouverneur  de  1'Etat 
de  Virginie." 1  From  this  titular  royalty  he  descended, 
as  we  have  seen,  about  the  1st  of  June,  1779 ;  and  for 
the  subsequent  five  and  a  half  years,  until  his  recall  to 
the  governorship,  he  is  to  be  viewed  by  us  as  a  very 
retired  country  gentleman  in  delicate  health,  with  epi 
sodes  of  labor  and  of  leadership  in  the  Virginia  house 
of  delegates. 

A  little  more  than  a  fortnight  after  his  descent  from 
the  governor's  chair,  he  was  elected  by  the  general 
assembly  as  a  delegate  in  congress.2  It  is  not  known 
whether  he  at  any  time  thought  it  possible  for  him  to 
accept  this  appointment ;  but,  on  the  28th  of  the  fol 
lowing  October,  the  body  that  had  elected  him  received 
from  him  a  letter  declining  the  service.8  Moreover,  in 
spite  of  all  invitations  and  entreaties,  Patrick  Henry 
never  afterward  served  in  any  public  capacity  outside 
the  state  of  Virginia. 

1  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  i.  189,  note. 

2  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  54.  8  Ibid.  27. 


AT  HOME  AND   IN  HOUSE   OF  DELEGATES.     243 

During  his  three  years  in  the  governorship,  he  had 
lived  in  the  palace  at  Williamsburg.  In  the  course  of 
that  time,  also,  he  had  sold  his  estate  of  Scotchtown,  in 
Hanover  County,  and  had  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land 
in  the  new  county  of  Henry,  —  a  county  situated  about 
two  hundred  miles  southwest  from  Richmond,  along 
the  North  Carolina  boundary,  and  named,  of  course,  in 
honor  of  himself.  To  his  new  estate  there,  called  Lea- 
therwood,  consisting  of  about  ten  thousand  acres,  he  re 
moved  early  in  the  summer  of  1779.  This  continued 
to  be  his  home  until  he  resumed  the  office  of  governor 
in  November,  1784.1 

After  the  storm  and  stress  of  so  many  years  of  public 
life,  and  of  public  life  in  an  epoch  of  revolution,  the 
invalid  body,  the  care-burdened  spirit,  of  Patrick  Henry 
must  have  found  great  refreshment  in  this  removal  to  a 
distant,  wild,  and  mountainous  solitude.  In  undisturbed 
seclusion,  he  there  remained  during  the  summer  and 
autumn  of  1779,  and  even  the  succeeding  winter  arid 
spring,  —  scarcely  able  to  hear  the  far-off  noises  of  the 
great  struggle  in  which  he  had  hitherto  borne  so  rugged 
a  part,  and  of  which  the  victorious  issue  was  then  to  be 
seen  by  him,  though  dimly,  through  many  a  murky  rack 
of  selfishness,  cowardice,  and  crime. 

His  successor  in  the  office  of  governor  was  Thomas 
Jefferson,  the  jovial  friend  of  his  own  jovial  youth, 
bound  to  him  still  by  that  hearty  friendship  which  was 
founded  on  congeniality  of  political  sentiment,  but  was 
afterward  to  die  away,  at  least  on  Jefferson's  side,  into 
alienation  and  hate.  To  this  dear  friend  Patrick  Henry 
wrote  late  in  that  winter,  from  his  hermitage  among 
the  eastward  fastnesses  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  a  remarkable 
i  MS. 


244  PATRICK   HENRY. 

letter,  which  has  never  before  been  in  print,  and  which 
is  full  of  interest  for  us  on  account  of  its  impulsive  and 
self-revealing  words.  Its  tone  of  despondency,  almost 
of  misanthropy,  —  so  unnatural  to  Patrick  Henry,  — 
is  perhaps  a  token  of  that  sickness  of  body  which  had 
made  the  soul  sick  too,  and  had  then  driven  the  writer 
into  the  wilderness,  and  still  kept  him  there  :  — 

TO    THOMAS    JEFFERSON. 

"  Leatkerwood,  15th  Feby.,  1780. 

"DEAK  SIR,  —  I  return  you  many  thanks  for  your 
favor  by  Mr.  Sanders.  The  kind  notice  you  were 
pleased  to  take  of  me  was  particularly  obliging,  as  I 
have  scarcely  heard  a  word  of  public  matters  since  I 
moved  up  in  the  retirement  where  I  live. 

"  I  have  had  many  anxieties  for  our  commonwealth, 
principally  occasioned  by  the  depreciation  of  our  money. 
To  judge  by  this,  which  somebody  has  called  the  pulse 
of  the  state,  I  have  feared  that  our  body  politic  was 
dangerously  sick.  God  grant  it  may  not  be  unto  death. 
But  I  cannot  forbear  thinking,  the  present  increase  of 
prices  is  in  great  part  owing  to  a  kind  of  habit,  which  is 
now  of  four  or  five  years'  growth,  which  is  fostered  by 
a  mistaken  avarice,  and  like  other  habits  hard  to  part 
with.  For  there  is  really  very  little  money  hereabouts. 

"  What  you  say  of  the  practice  of  our  distinguished 
tories  perfectly  agrees  with  my  own  observation,  and 
the  attempts  to  raise  prejudices  against  the  French,  I 
know  were  begun  when  I  lived  below.  What  gave  me 
the  utmost  pain  was  to  see  some  men,  indeed  very  many, 
who  were  thought  good  whigs,  keep  company  with  the 
miscreants,  —  wretches  who,  I  am  satisfied,  were  labor 
ing  our  destruction.  This  countenance  shown  them  is 


AT  HOME   AND   IN  HOUSE   OF  DELEGATES.     245 

of  fatal  tendency.  They  should  be  shunned  arid  ex 
ecrated,  and  this  is  the  only  way  to  supply  the  place  of 
legal  conviction  and  punishment.  But  this  is  an  effort 
of  virtue,  small  as  it  seems,  of  which  our  countrymen 
are  not  capable. 

"  Indeed,  I  will  own  to  you,  my  dear  Sir,  that  observ 
ing  this  impunity  and  even  respect,  which  some  wicked 
individuals  have  met  with  while  their  guilt  was  clear  as 
the  sun,  has  sickened  me,  and  made  me  sometimes  wish 
to  be  in  retirement  for  the  rest  of  my  life.  I  will,  how 
ever,  be  down,  on  the  next  assembly,  if  I  am  chosen. 
My  health,  I  am  satisfied,  will  never  again  permit  a 
close  application  to  sedentary  business,  and  I  even 
doubt  whether  I  can  remain  below  long  enough  to  serve 
in  the  assembly.  I  will,  however,  make  the  trial. 

"  But  tell  me,  do  you  remember  any  instance  where 
tyranny  was  destroyed  and  freedom  established  on  its 
ruins,  among  a  people  possessing  so  small  a  share  of 
virtue  and  public  spirit.  I  recollect  none,  and  this, 
more  than  the  British  arms,  makes  me  fearful  of  final 
success  without  a  reform.  But  when  or  how  this  is  to 
be  effected,  I  have  not  the  means  of  judging.  I  most 
sincerely  wish  you  health  and  prosperity.  If  you  can 
spare  time  to  drop  me  a  line  now  and  then,  it  will  be 
highly  obliging  to,  dear  Sir,  your  affectionate  friend 
and  obedient  servant,  P.  HENRY."1 

The  next  general  assembly,  which  he  thus  promised 
to  attend  in  case  he  should  be  chosen,  met  at  Rich 
mond  on  the  1st  of  May,  1780.  It  hardly  needs  to  be 
mentioned  that  the  people  of  Henry  County  were  proud 
to  choose  him  as  one  of  their  members  in  that  body  J 
i  MS. 


246  PATRICK  KENRY. 

but  he  seems  not  to  have  taken  his  seat  there  until 
about  the  19th  of  May.1  From  the  moment  of  his  ar 
rival  in  the  house  of  delegates,  every  kind  of  responsi 
bility  and  honor  was  laid  upon  him.  This  was  his  first 
appearance  in  such  an  assembly  since  the  proclamation 
of  independence  ;  and  the  prestige  attaching  to  his  name, 
as  well  as  his  own  undimmed  genius  for  leadership, 
made  him  not  only  the  most  conspicuous  person  in  the 
house,  but-  the  nearly  absolute  director  of  its  business  in 
every  detail  of  opinion  and  of  procedure,  on  which  he 
should  choose  to  express  himself,  —  his  only  rival,  in 
any  particular,  being  Richard  Henry  Lee.  It  helps  one 
now  to  understand  the  real  reputation  he  had  among  his 
contemporaries  for  practical  ability,  and  for  a  habit  of 
shrinking  from  none  of  the  commonplace  drudgeries  of 
legislative  work,  that  during  the  first  few  days  after  his 
accession  to  the  house,  he  was  placed  on  the  committee 
of  ways  and  means  ;  on  a  committee  "  to  inquire  into 
the  present  state  of  the  account  of  the  commonwealth 
against  the  United  States,  and  the  most  speedy  and  ef 
fectual  method  of  finally  settling  the  same  "  ;  on  a  com 
mittee  to  prepare  a  bill  for  the  repeal  of  a  part  of  the 
act  "  for  sequestering  British  property,  enabling  those 
indebted  to  British  subjects  to  pay  off  such  debts,  and 
directing  the  proceedings  in  suits  where  such  subjects 
are  parties  "  ;  on  three  several  committees  respecting 
the  powers  and  duties  of  high  sheriffs  and  of  grand  ju 
ries  ;  and,  finally,  on  a  committee  to  notify  Jefferson  of 
his  reelection  as  governor,  and  to  report  his  answer  to 
the  house.  On  the  7th  of  June,  however,  after  a  service 
of  little  more  than  two  weeks,  his  own  sad  apprehen 
sions  respecting  his  health  seem  to  have  been  realizedf 
i  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  14. 


AT  HOME  AND  IN  HOUSE   OF  DELEGATES.    247 

and  he  was  obliged  to  ask  leave  to  withdraw  from  the 
house  for  the  remainder  of  the  session. 1 

At  the  autumn  session  of  the  legislature,  he  was  once 
more  in  his  place.  On  the  6th  of  November,  the  day 
on  which  the  house  was  organized,  he  was  made  chair 
man  of  the  committee  on  privileges  and  elections,  and  also 
of  a  committee  "  for  the  better  defence  of  the  southern 
frontier,"  and  was  likewise  placed  on  the  committee  on 
propositions  and  grievances,  as  well  as  on  the  committee 
on  courts  of  justice.  On  the  following  day,  he  was  made 
a  member  of  a  committee  for  the  defence  of  the  east 
ern  frontier.  On  the  10th  of  November,  he  was  placed 
on  a  committee  to  bring  in  a  bill  relating  to  the  enlist 
ment  of  Virginia  troops,  and  to  the  redemption  of  the 
state  bills  of  credit  then  in  circulation,  and  the  emission 
of  new  bills.  On  the  22d  of  November,  he  was  made 
a  member  of  a  committee  to  which  was  again  referred 
the  accounts  between  the  state  and  the  United  States. 
On  the  9th  of  December,  he  was  made  a  member  of  a 
committee  to  draw  up  bills  for  the  organization  and 
maintenance  of  a  navy  for  the  state,  and  the  protection 
of  navigation  and  commerce  upon  its  waters.  On  the 
14th  of  December,  he  was  made  chairman  of  a  com 
mittee  to  draw  up  a  bill  for  the  better  regulation  and 
discipline  of  the  militia,  and  of  still  another  committee  to 
prepare  a  bill  "  for  supplying  the  army  with  clothes  and 
provisions."  2  On  the  28th  of  December,  the  house 
having  knowledge  of  the  arrival  in  town  of  poor  Gen 
eral  Gates,  then  drooping  under  the  burden  of  those 
Southern  willows  which  he  had  so  plentifully  gathered 
at  Camden,  Patrick  Henry  introduced  the  following 

1  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  14,  15,  18,  25,  28,  31,  39. 

2  Ibid.  7,  8,  10,  14,  24,  45,  50,  51. 


248  PATRICK  HENRY. 

magnanimous  resolution  :  "  That  a  committee  of  four 
be  appointed  to  wait  on  Major  General  Gates,  and  to 
assure  him  of  the  high  regard  and  esteem  of  this  house ; 
that  the  remembrance  of  his  former  glorious  services 
cannot  be  obliterated  by  any  reverse  of  fortune  ;  but 
that  this  house,  ever  mindful  of  his  great  merit,  will 
omit  no  opportunity  of  testifying  to  the  world  the  grati 
tude  which,  as  a  member  of  the  American  union,  this 
country  owes  to  him  in  his  military  character."  l  On 
the  2d  of  January,  1781,  the  last  day  of  the  session, 
the  house  adopted,  on  Patrick  Henry's  motion,  a  reso 
lution  authorizing  the  governor  to  convene  the  next 
meeting  of  the  legislature  at  some  other  place  than 
Richmond,  in  case  its  assembling  in  that  city  should 
**  be  rendered  inconvenient  by  the  operations  of  an  in 
vading  enemy,"  2  a  resolution  reflecting  their  sense  of 
the  peril  then  hanging  over  the  state. 

Before  the  legislature  could  again  meet,  events  proved 
that  it  was  no  imaginary  danger  against  which  Patrick 
Henry's  resolution  had  been  intended  to  provide.  On 
the  2d  of  .January,  1781,  the  very  day  on  which  the 
legislature  had  adjourned,  a  hostile  fleet  conveyed  into 
the  James  River  a  force  of  about  eight  hundred  men 
under  command  of  Benedict  Arnold,  whose  eagerness  to 
ravage  Virginia  was  still  further  facilitated  by  the  ar 
rival,  on  the  26th  of  March,  of  two  thousand  men  un 
der  General  Phillips.  Moreover,  Lord  Cornwallis, 
having  beaten  General  Greene  at  Guildford,  in  North 
Carolina,  on  the  15th  of  March,  had  no  barrier  left 
between  himself  and  a  speedy  advance  into  Virginia. 
That  the  roar  of  his  guns  would  soon  be  heard  in  the 
outskirts  of  their  capital,  was  what  all  Virginians  then 
perceived  to  be  inevitable. 

l  Jour.  Va.  ffouff  Del..  71.  2  Ibid.  79. 


AT  HOME   AND  IN  HOUSE  OF  DELEGATES.     249 

Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  not  strange  that  a 
session  of  the  legislature,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
held  on  the  1st  of  March,1  should  have  been  a  very 
brief  one,  or  that  when  the  7th  of  May  arrived,  —  the 
day  for  its  re-assembling  at  Richmond,  —  no  quorum 
should  have  been  present;  or  that,  on  the  10th  of  May, 
the  few  members  who  had  arrived  in  Richmond  should 
have  voted,  in  deference  to  "  the  approach  of  an  hostile 
army,"  2  to  adjourn  to  Charlottesville,  —  a  place  of  far 
greater  security,  ninety-seven  miles  to  the  north-west, 
among  the  mountains  of  Albemarle.  By  the  20th  of 
May,  Cornwallis  reached  Petersburg,  twenty  -  three 
miles  south  of  Richmond  ;  and  shortly  afterward,  push 
ing  across  the  James  and  the  Chickahominy,  he  en 
camped  on  the  North  Anna,  in  the  county  of  Hanover. 
Thus,  at  last,  the  single  county  of  Louisa  then  separated 
him  from  that  county  in  which  was  the  home  of  the 
governor  of  the  state,  and  where  was  then  convened  its 
legislature, —  Patrick  Plenry  himself  being  present  and 
in  obvious  direction  of  all  its  business.  The  opportunity 
to  bag  such  game,  Lord  Cornwallis  was  not  the  man 
to  let  slip.  Accordingly,  on  Sunday,  the  3d  of  June, 
he  despatched  a  swift  expedition  under  Tarleton,  to 
surprise  and  capture  the  members  of  the  legislature,  "  to 
seize  on  the  person  of  the  governor,"  and  "  to  spread 
on  his  route  devastation  and  terror."  3  In  this  entire 
scheme,  doubtless,  Tarleton  would  have  succeeded,  had 
it  not  been  that  as  he  and  his  troopers,  on  that  fair 
Sabbath-day,  were  hurrying  past  the  Cuckoo  tavern  in 
Louisa,  one  Captain  John  Jouette,  watching  from  be 
hind  the  windows,  espied  them,  divined  their  object, 

i  Burk,  Hist.  Va.,  iv.  491.  2  JOUr.  Va.  House  Del,  1. 

»  Burk,  Hist.  Fa.,  iv.  496-497. 


250  PATRICK  HENRY. 

and  mounting  a  fleet  horse,  and  taking  a  shorter  route, 
got  into  Charlottesville  a  few  hours  in  advance  of  them, 
just  in  time  to  give  the  alarm,  and  to  set  the  imperilled 
legislators  aflying  to  the  mountains  for  safety. 

Then,  by  all  accounts,  was  witnessed  a  display  of  the 
locomotive  energies  of  grave  and  potent  senators,  such 
as  this  world  has  not  often  exhibited.  Of  this  tragic 
ally  comical  incident,  of  course,  the  journal  of  the  house 
of  delegates  makes  only  the  most  placid  and  forbearing 
mention.  For  Monday,  June  4th,  its  chief  entry  is  as 
follows :  "  There  being  reason  to  apprehend  an  imme 
diate  incursion  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  to  this  place, 
which  renders  it  indispensable  that  the  general  assembly 
should  forthwith  adjourn  to  a  place  of  greater  security  ; 
resolved,  that  this  house  be  adjourned  until  Thursday 
next,  then  to  meet  at  the  town  of  Staunton,  in  the 
county  of  Augusta,"  —  a  town  thirty-nine  miles  further 
west,  beyond  a  chain  of  mountains,  and  only  to  be 
reached  by  them  or  their  pursuers  through  difficult 
passes  in  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  next  entry  in  the 
journal  is  dated  at  Stauntou,  on  the  7th  of  June,  and, 
very  properly,  is  merely  a  prosaic  and  business  -  like 
record  of  the  re-assembling  of  the  house  according  to 
the  adjournment  aforesaid.1 

But  as  to  some  of  the  things  that  happened  in  that 
interval  of  panic  and  of  scrambling  flight,  popular  tra 
dition  has  not  been  equally  forbearing ;  and  while  the 
anecdotes  upon  that  subject,  which  have  descended  to 
our  time,  are  very  likely  decorated  by  many  tassels  of 
exaggeration  and  of  myth,  they  yet  have,  doubtless, 
some  slight  framework  of  truth,  and  do  really  portray 
for  us  the  actual  beliefs  of  many  people  in  Virginia  re- 
1  Jour.  Va.  House  Dd.,  10. 


AT  HOME   AND   IN  HOUSE   OF  DELEGATES.     251 

specting  a  number  of  their  celebrated  men,  and  espe 
cially  respecting  some  of  the  less  celebrated  traits  of 
those  men.  For  example,  it  is  related  that  on  the  sud 
den  adjournment  of  the  house,  caused  by  this  dusty 
and  breathless  apparition  of  the  speedful  Jouette,  and 
his  laconic  intimation  that  Tarleton  was  coming,  the 
members,  though  somewhat  accustomed  to  ceremony, 
stood  not  upon  the  order  of  their  going,  but  went  at 
once,  —  taking  first  to  their  horses,  and  then  to  the 
woods ;  and  that,  breaking  up  into  small  parties  of  fugi 
tives,  they  thus  made  their  several  ways,  as  best  they 
could,  through  the  passes  of  the  mountains  leading  to 
the  much-desired  seclusion  of  Staunton.  One  of  these 
parties  consisted  of  Benjamin  Harrison,  Colonel  Wil 
liam  Christian,  John  Tyler,  and  Patrick  Henry.  Late 
in  the  day,  tired  and  hungry,  they  stopped  their  horses 
at  the  door  of  a  small  hut,  in  a  gorge  of  the  hills, 
and  asked  for  food.  An  old  woman,  who  came  to  the 
door,  and  who  was  alone  in  the  house,  demanded 
of  them  who  they  were,  and  where  they  were  from. 
Patrick  Henry,  who  acted  as  spokesman  of  the  party, 
answered :  "  We  are  members  of  the  legislature,  arid 
have  just  been  compelled  to  leave  Charlottesville  on 
account  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy."  "  Ride  on, 
then,  ye  cowardly  knaves,"  replied  she,  in  great  wrath  ; 
"  here  have  my  husband  and  sons  just  gone  to  Char 
lottesville  to  fight  for  ye,  and  you  running  away  with 
all  your  might.  Clear  out  —  ye  shall  have  nothing 
here."  "  But,"  rejoined  Mr.  Henry,  in  an  expostulat 
ing  tone,  "  we  were  obliged  to  fly.  It  would  not  do 
for  the  legislature  to  be  broken  up  by  the  enemy. 
Here  is  Mr.  Speaker  Harrison  ;  you  don't  think  he 
would  have  fled  had  it  not  been  necessary  ?  "  "I  al- 


252  PATRICK  HENRY. 

ways  thought  a  great  deal  of  Mr.  Harrison  till  now," 
answered  the  old  woman  ;  "  but  he  'd  no  business  to 
run  from  the  enemy,"  and  she  was  about  to  shut  the 
door  in  their  faces.  "  Wait  a  moment,  my  good  woman," 
urged  Mr.  Henry ;  "  you  would  hardly  believe  that  Mr. 
Tyler  or  Colonel  Christian  would  take  to  flight  if  there 
were  not  good  cause  for  so  doing  ?  "  "  No,  indeed,  that 
I  would  n't,"  she  replied.  "  But,"  exclaimed  he,  **  Mr. 
Tyler  and  Colonel  Christian  are  here."  u  They  here  ? 
Well,  I  never  would  have  thought  it";  and  she  stood 
for  a  moment  in  doubt,  but  at  once  added,  "  No  matter. 
We  love  these  gentlemen,  and  I  didn't  suppose  they 
would  ever  run  away  from  the  British  ;  but  since  they 
have,  they  shall  have  nothing  to  eat  in  my  house.  You 
may  ride  along."  In  this  desperate  situation,  Mr.  Tyler 
then  stepped  forward  and  said,  "  What  would  you  say, 
my  good  woman,  if  I  were  to  tell  you  that  Patrick 
Henry  fled  with  the  rest  of  us  ?  "  "  Patrick  Henry  !  I 
should  tell  you  there  wasn't  a  word  of  truth  in  it,"  she 
answered  angrily  ;  "  Patrick  Henry  would  never  do 
such  a  cowardly  thing."  "  But  this  is  Patrick  Henry," 
said  Mr.  Tyler,  pointing  to  him.  The  old  woman  was 
amazed ;  but  after  some  reflection,  and  with  a  convul 
sive  twitch  or  two  at  her  apron  string,  she  said,  "  Well, 
then,  if  that's  Patrick  Henry,  it  must  be  all  right. 
Come  in,  and  ye  shall  have  the  best  I  have  in  the 
house."  l 

The  pitiless  tongue  of  tradition  does  not  stop  here, 
but  proceeds  to  narrate  other  alleged  experiences  of 
this  our  noble,  though  somewhat  disconcerted,  Patrick. 
Arrived  at  last  in  Staunton,  and  walking  through  its 

1  L.  G.  Tyler,  Letters  and  Times  of  the  Tylers,  i.  81-83,  where  it 
is  said  to  be  taken  from  Abel's  Life  of  John  Tyler. 


AT   HOME   AND    IN  HOUSE    OF  DELEGATES.     253 

reassuring  streets,  he  is  said  to  have  met  one  Colonel 
William  Lewis,  to  whom  the  face  of  the  orator  was 
then  unknown ;  and  to  have  told  to  this  stranger  the 
story  of  the  flight  of  the  legislature  from  Albemarle. 
"  If  Patrick  Henry  had  been  in  Albemarle,"  was  the 
stranger's  comment,  "  the  British  dragoons  never  would 
have  passed  over  the  Rivanua  River."  l 

The  tongue  of  tradition,  at  last  grown  quite  reckless, 
perhaps,  of  its  own  credit,  still  further  relates  that  even 
at  Staunton,  these  illustrious  fugitives  did  not  feel  en 
tirely  sure  that  they  were  beyond  the  reach  of  Tarle- 
ton's  men.  A  few  nights  after  their  arrival  there,  as 
the  story  runs,  upon  some  sudden  alarm,  several  of  them 
sprang  from  their  beds,  and,  imperfectly  clapping  on 
their  clothes,  fled  out  of  the  town,  and  took  refuge  at  the 
plantation  of  one  Colonel  George  Moffett,  near  which, 
they  had  been  told,  was  a  cave  in  which  they  might 
the  more  effectually  conceal  themselves.  Mrs.  Moffett, 
though  not  knowing  the  names  of  these  flitting  Solons, 
yet  received  them  with  true  Virginian  hospitality  ;  but 
the  next  morning,  at  breakfast,  she  made  the  unlucky 
remark  that  there  was  one  member  of  the  legislature 
who  certainly  would  not  have  run  from  the  enemy. 
"  Who  is  he  ?  "  was  then  asked.  Her  reply  was,  "  Pat 
rick  Henry."  At  that  moment,  a  gentleman  of  the 
party,  himself  possessed  of  but  one  boot,  was  observed 
to  blush  considerably.  Furthermore,  as  soon  as  possi 
ble  after  breakfast,  these  imperilled  legislators  departed 
in  search  of  the  cave  ;  shortly  after  which  a  negro  from 
Staunton  rode  up,  carrying  in  his  hand  a  solitary  boot, 
and  inquiring  earnestly  for  Patrick  Henry.  In  that 
way,  as  the  modern  reporter  of  this  very  debatable  tra- 

l  Peyton,  Hist.  Augusta  Co.,  211. 


254  PATRICK  HENRY. 

dition  unkindly  adds,  the  admiring  Mrs.  Moffett  ascer 
tained  who  it  was  that  the  boot  fitted  ;  and  he  further 
suggests  that,  whatever  Mrs.  Moffett's  emotions  were 
at  that  time,  those  of  Patrick  must  have  been,  "  Give 
me  liberty,  but  not  death." l 

Passing  by  these  whimsical  tales,  we  have  now  to  add 
that  the  legislature,  having,  on  the  7th  of  June,  entered 
upon  its  work  at  Staunton,  steadily  continued  it  there 
until  the  23d  of  the  month,  when  it  adjourned  in  orderly 
fashion,  to  meet  again  in  the  following  October.  Gov 
ernor  Jefferson,  whose  second  year  of  office  had  expired 
two  days  before  the  flight  of  himself  and  the  legisla 
ture  from  Charlottesville,  did  not  accompany  that  body 
to  Staunton,  but  pursued  his  own  way  to  Poplar  Forest 
and  to  Bedford,  where,  "  remote  from  the  legislature,"  2 
he  remained  during  the  remainder  of  its  session.  On 
the  12th  of  June,  Thomas  Nelson  was  elected  as  his 
successor  in  office.8 

It  was  dining  this  period  of  confusion  and  terror, 
that,  as  Jefferson  alleges,  the  legislature  once  more  had 
before  it  the  project  of  a  dictator,  in  the  criminal  sense 
of  that  word ;  and,  upon  Jefferson's  private  authority, 
both  Wirt  and  Girardin  long  afterward  named  Patrick 
Henry  as  the  man  who  was  intended  for  this  profligate 
honor.4  We  need  not  here  repeat  what  was  said,  in 
our  narrative  of  the  closing  weeks  of  1776,  concerning 
this  terrible  posthumous  imputation  upon  the  public  and 
private  character  of  Patrick  Henry.  Nearly  everything 

1  Peyton,  Hist.  Augusta  Co.,  211. 

2  Randall,  Life  of  Jefferson,  i.  352. 
8  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  15. 

4  Jefferson's  Writings,  viii.  368;  Wirt,  231;  Girardin,  in  Burk, 
Hist.  Va.,  iv.  App.  pp.  xi.-xii. ;  Randall,  Life  of  Jefferson,  i.  348- 
352. 


AT  HOME  AND   IN  HOUSE  OF  DELEGATES.     255 

which  then  appeared  to  the  discredit  of  this  charge  in 
connection  with  the  earlier  date,  is  equally  applicable 
to  it  in  connection  with  the  later  date  also.  Moreover, 
as  regards  this  later  date,  there  has  recently  been  dis 
covered  a  piece  of  contemporaneous  testimony -which 
shows  that,  whatever  may  have  been  the  scheme  for  a 
dictatorship  in  Virginia  in  1781,  it  was  a  great  military 
chieftain  who  was  wanted  for  the  position  ;  and,  ap 
parently,  that  Patrick  Henry  was  not  then  even  men 
tioned  in  the  affair.  On  the  9th  of  June,  1781,  Captain 
H.  Young,  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  writes 
from  Staunton  to  Colonel  William  Davies,  as  follows : 
"Two  days  ago,  Mr.  Nicholas  gave  notice  that  he 
should  this  day  move  to  have  a  dictator  appointed. 
General  Washington  and  General  Greene  are  talked  of. 
I  dare  say  your  knowledge  of  these  worthy  gentlemen 
will  be  sufficient  to  convince  you  that  neither  of  them 
will,  or  ought  to,  accept  of  such  an  appointment.  .  .  . 
We  have  but  a  thin  house  of  delegates  ;  but  they  are 
zealous,  I  think,  in  the  cause  of  virtue."  1  Further 
more,  the  journal  of  that  house  contains  no  record  of 
any  such  motion  having  been  made  ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  it  never  was  made,  and  that  the  subject  never  came 
before  the  legislature  in  any  such  form  as  to  call  for  its 
notice. 

Finally,  with  respect  to  both  the  dates  mentioned  by 
Jefferson  for  the  appearance  of  the  scheme,  Edmund 
Randolph  has  left  explicit  testimony  to  the  effect  that 
such  a  scheme  never  had  any  substantial  existence  at 
all :  "  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  his  Notes  on  Virginia,  speaks 
with  great  bitterness  against  those  members  of  the  as 
sembly  in  the  years  1776  and  1781,  who  espoused  the 
i  Calendar  Va.  State  Papers,  ii.  152. 


256  PATRICK  HENRY. 

erection  of  a  dictator.  Coming  from  such  authority, 
the  invective  infects  the  character  of  the  legislature, 
notwithstanding  he  has  restricted  the  charge  to  less 
than  a  majority,  and  acknowledged  the  spotlessuess  of 
most  of  them.  .  .  .  The  subject  was  never  before  them, 
except  as  an  article  of  newspaper  intelligence,  and  even 
then  not  in  a  form  which  called  for  their  attention. 
Against  this  unfettered  monster,  which  deserved  all  the 
impassioned  reprobation  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  their  tones, 
it  may  be  affirmed,  would  have  been  loud  and  tremen 
dous."  1 

For  its  autumn  session,  in  1781,  the  legislature  did 
not  reach  an  organization  until  the  19th  of  November, 
—  just  one  month  after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis. 
Eight  days  after  the  organization  of  the  house,  Patrick 
Henry  took  his  seat ;  2  and  after  a  service  of  less  than 
four  weeks,  he  obtained  leave  of  absence  for  the  re 
mainder  of  the  session.8  During  1782,  his  attendance 
upon  the  house  seems  to  have  been  limited  to  the  spring 
session.  At  the  organization  of  the  house,  on  the  12th 
of  May,  1783,  he  was  in  his  place  again,  and  during 
that  session,  as  well  as  the  autumnal  one,  his  attendance 
was  close  and  laborious.  At  both  sessions  of  the  house 
in  1784  he  was  present  and  in  full  force;  but  in  the 
very  midst  of  these  employments  he  was  interrupted  by 
his  election  as  governor,  on  the  17th  of  November, — 
shortly  after  which,  he  withdrew  to  his  country-seat  in 
order  to  remove  his  family  thence  to  the  capital. 

In  the  course  of  all  these  labors  in  the  legislature,  and 
amid  a  multitude  of  topics  merely  local  and  temporary, 
Patrick  Henry  had  occasion  to  deal  publicly,  and  under 

1  MS.  Hist.  Va.  2  jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  for  Nov.  27. 

*  Jour.  Va.  House  Del,  for  Dec.  21. 


AT  HOME  AND   IN    HOUSE    OF  DELEGATES.     257 

the  peculiar  responsibilities  of  leadership,  with  nearly  all 
the  most  important  and  difficult  questions  that  came  be 
fore  the  American  people  during  the  latter  years  of  the 
war  and  the  earlier  years  of  the  peace.  The  journal  of 
the  house  for  that  period  omits  all  mention  of  words 
spoken  in  debate  ;  and  although  it  does  occasionally  en 
able  us  to  ascertain  on  which  side  of  certain  questions 
Patrick  Henry  stood,  it  leaves  us  in  total  ignorance  of 
his  reasons  for  any  position  which  he  chose  to  take.  In 
trying,  therefore,  to  estimate  the  quality  of  his  states 
manship  when  dealing  with  these  questions,  we  lack  a 
part  of  the  evidence  which  is  essential  to  any  just  con 
clusion  ;  and  we  are  left  peculiarly  at  the  mercy  of  those 
sweeping  censures  which  have  been  occasionally  applied 
to  his  political  conduct  during  that  period.1 

On  the  assurance  of  peace,  in  the  spring  of  1783, 
perhaps  the  earliest  and  the  knottiest  problem  which 
had  to  be  taken  up  was  the  one  relating  to  that  vast 
body  of  Americans  who  then  bore  the  contumelious 
name  of  tories,  —  those  Americans  who,  against  all 
loss  and  ignominy,  had  steadily  remained  loyal  to  the 
unity  of  the  British  empire,  unflinching  in  their  rejection 
of  the  constitutional  heresy  of  American  secession.  How 
should  these  execrable  beings  —  the  defeated  party  in  a 
long  and  most  rancorous  civil  war  —  be  treated  by  the 
party  which  was  at  last  victorious?  Many  of  them 
were  already  in  exile:  should  they  be  kept  there? 
Many  were  still  in  this  country  :  should  they  be  ban 
ished  from  it  ?  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  exasperation  of 
public  feeling  against  the  tories  was,  at  that  time,  so 
universal  and  so  fierce  that  no  statesman  could  then  lift 

1  For  example,  Bland  Papers,  ii.  51  ;  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  i. 
536  ;  ii.  240,  note. 


258  PATRICK   IJKNRY. 

up  his  voice  in  their  favor  without  dashing  himself 
against  the  angriest  currents  of  popular  opinion  and  pas 
sion,  and  risking  the  loss  of  the  public  favor  toward  him 
self.  Nevertheless,  precisely  this  is  what  Patrick  Henry 
had  the  courage  to  do.  While  the  war  lasted,  no  man 
spoke  against  the  tories  more  sternly  than  did  he.  The 
war  being  ended,  and  its  great  purpose  secured,  no  man, 
excepting  perhaps  Alexander  Hamilton,  was  so  prompt 
and  so  energetic  in  urging  that  all  animosities  of  the  war 
should  be  laid  aside,  and  that  a  policy  of  magnanimous 
forbearance  should  be  pursued  respecting  these  baffled 
opponents  of  American  independence.  It  was  in  this 
spirit  that,  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  cessation  of 
hostilities,  he  introduced  a  bill  for  the  repeal  of  an  act 
44  to  prohibit  intercourse  with,  and  the  admission  of 
British  subjects  into"  Virginia,1  —  language  well  un 
derstood  to  refer  to  the  tories.  This  measure,  we  are 
told,  not  only  excited  surprise,  but  "  was,  at  first,  re 
ceived  with  a  repugnance  apparently  insuperable." 
Even  his  intimate  friend,  John  Tyler,  the  speaker  of 
the  house,  hotly  resisted  it  in  the  committee  of  the 
whole,  and,  in  the  course  of  his  argument,  turning  to 
Patrick  Henry,  asked,  "  how  he,  above  all  other  men, 
could  think  of  inviting  into  his  family  an  enemy  from 
whose  insults  and  injuries  he  had  suffered  so  severely?" 
In  reply  to  this  appeal,  Patrick  Henry  declared  that 
the  question  before  them  was  not  one  of  personal  feel 
ing  ;  that  it  was  a  nation  al  question ;  and  that  in  dis 
cussing  it,  they  should  be  willing  to  sacrifice  all  personal 
resentments,  all  private  wrongs.  He  then  proceeded  to 
unfold  the  proposition  that  America  had  everything  out 
of  which  to  make  a  great  nation  —  except  people. 
1  Jour.  Va.  House  Dtl,  42. 


AT  HOME  AND   IN  HOUSE    OF  DELEGATES.     259 

"  Your  great  want,  sir,  is  the  want  of  men  ;  and  these 
you  must  have,  and  will  have  speedily,  if  you  are  wise. 
Do  you  ask  how  you  are  to  get  them  ?  Open  your 
doors,  sir,  and  they  will  come  in.  The  population  of 
the  old  world  is  full  to  overflowing ;  that  population  is 
ground,  too,  by  the  oppressions  of  the  governments 
under  which  they  live.  Sir,  they  are  already  standing  on 
tiptoe  upon  their  native  shores,  and  looking  to  your  coasts 
with  a  wishful  and  longing  eye.  .  .  .  But  gentlemen 
object  to  any  accession  from  Great  Britain,  and  particu 
larly  to  the  return  of  the  British  refugees.  Sir,  I  feel  no 
objection  to  the  return  of  those  deluded  people.  They 
have,  to  be  sure,  mistaken  their  own  interests  most  wo- 
fully,  and  most  wo  fully  have  they  suffered  the  punish 
ment  due  to  their  offences.  But  the  relations  which  we 
bear  to  them  and  to  their  native  country  are  now 
changed.  Their  king  hath  acknowledged  our  indepen 
dence.  The  quarrel  is  over.  Peace  hath  returned,  and 
found  us  a  free  people.  Let  us  have  the  magnanimity, 
sir,  to  lay  aside  our  antipathies  and  prejudices,  and  con 
sider  the  subject  in  a  political  light.  Those  are  an  en 
terprising,  moneyed  people.  They  will  be  serviceable 
in  taking  off  the  surplus  produce  of  our  lands,  and  sup 
plying  us  with  necessaries  during  the  infant  state  of  our 
manufactures.  Even  if  they  be  inimical  to  us  in  point 
of  feeling  and  principle,  I  can  see  no  objection,  in  a 
political  view,  in  making  them  tributary  to  our  advan 
tage.  And,  as  I  have  no  prejudices  to  prevent  my 
making  this  use  of  them,  so,  sir,  I  have  no  fear  of  any 
mischief  that  they  can  do  us.  Afraid  of  them  ?  What, 
sir  [said  he,  rising  to  one  of  his  loftiest  attitudes,  and 
assuming  a  look  of  the  most  indignant  and  sovereign 


260  PATRICK  HENRY. 

contempt],  shall  we,  who  have  laid  the  proud  British 
lion  at  our  feet,  now  be  afraid  of  his  whelps  ?  "  l 

In  the  same  spirit  he  dealt  with  the  restraints  on 
British  commerce  imposed  during  the  war.  —  a  question 
similar  to  the  one  just  mentioned,  at  least  in  this  partic 
ular,  that  it  was  enveloped  in  the  angry  prejudices  born 
of  the  conflict  just  ended.  The  journal  for  the  13th  of 
May,  1783,  has  this  entry:  "Mr.  Henry  presented, 
according  to  order,  a  bill  '  to  repeal  the  several  acts  of 
assembly  for  seizure  and  condemnation  of  British  goods 
found  on  land  ; '  and  the  same  was  received  and  read 
the  first  time,  and  ordered  to  be  read  a  second  time." 
In  advocating  this  measure,  he  seems  to  have  lifted  the 
discussion  clear  above  all  petty  considerations  to  the 
plane  of  high  and  permanent  principle  ;  and  according 
to  one  of  his  chief  antagonists  in  that  debate,  to  have 
met  all  objections  by  arguments  that  were  '"  beyond  all 
expression  eloquent  and  sublime."  After  describing 
the  embarrassments  and  distresses  of  the  situation,  and 
their  causes,  he  took  the  ground  that  perfect  freedom 
was  as  necessary  to  the  health  and  vigor  of  commerce, 
as  it  was  to  the  health  and  vigor  of  citizenship.  u  Why 
should  we  fetter  commerce?  If  a  man  is  in  chains,  he 
droops  and  bows  to  the  earth,  for  his  spirits  are  broken  ; 
but  let  him  twist  the  fetters  from  his  legs,  and  he  will 
stand  erect.  Fetter  not  commerce,  sir.  Let  her  be  as 
free  as  air ;  she  will  range  the  whole  creation,  and  re 
turn  on  the  wings  of  the  four  winds  of  heaven,  to  bless 
the  land  with  plenty."  '• 

Besides  these  and  other  problems  in  the  foreign  rela 
tions  of  the  country,  there  remained,  of  course,  at  the 

1  John  Tyler,  in  Wirt,  233,  236. 

2  Ibid.  237-238. 


AT  HOME  AND    IN  HOUSE   OF  DELEGATES.     261 

end  of  the  war  several  vast  domestic  problems  for 
American  statesmanship  to  grapple  with,  —  one  of  these 
being  the  relations  of  the  white  race  to  their  perpetual 
neighbors,  the  Indians.  In  the  autumn  session  of  1784,  in 
a  series  of  efforts  said  to  have  been  marked  by  "  irresist 
ible  earnestness  and  eloquence,"  he  secured  the  favor 
able  attention  of  the  house  to  this  ancient  problem,  and 
even  to  his  own  daring  and  statesmanlike  solution  of  it. 
The  whole  subject,  as  he  thought,  had  been  commonly 
treated  by  the  superior  race  in  a  spirit  not  only  mean 
and  hard,  but  superficial  also  :  the  result  being  nearly 
two  centuries  of  mutual  suspicion,  hatred,  and  slaughter. 
At  last  the  time  had  come  for  the  superior  race  to  put 
an  end  to  this  tradidonal  disaster  and  disgrace.  Instead 
of  tampering  with  the  difficulty  by  remedies  applied 
merely  to  the  surface,  he  was  for  striking  at  the  root 
of  it,  namely,  at  the  deep  divergence  in  sympathy  and 
in  interest  between  the  two  races.  There  was  but  one 
way  in  which  to  do  this  :  it  was  for  the  white  race  to 
treat  the  Indians,  consistently,  as  human  beings,  and  as 
fast  as  possible  to  identify  their  interests  with  our  own 
along  the  entire  range  of  personal  concerns,  —  in  prop 
erty,  government,  society,  and,  especially,  in  domestic 
life.  In  short,  he  proposed  to  encourage,  by  a  system 
of  pecuniary  bounties,  the  practice  of  marriage  between 
members  of  the  two  races,  believing  that  such  ties,  once 
formed,  would  be  an  inviolable  pledge  of  mutual  friend 
ship,  fidelity,  and  forbearance,  and  would  gradually 
lead  to  the  transformation  of  the  Indians  into  a  civil 
ized  and  Christian  people.  His  bill  for  this  purpose, 
elaborately  drawn  up,  was  carried  through  its  second 
reading  and  "  engrossed  for  its  final  passage,"  when,  by 
his  sudden  removal  from  the  floor  of  the  house  to  the 


262  PATRICK  HENRY. 

governor's  chair,  the  measure  was  deprived  of  its  all- 
couquering  champion,  and,  on  the  third  reading,  it  fell  a 
sacrifice  to  the  Caucasian  rage  and  scorn  of  the  members. 

It  is  proper  to  note,  also,  that  during  this  period 
of  service  in  the  legislature  Patrick  Henry  marched 
straight  against  public  opinion,  and  jeoparded  his  popu 
larity,  on  two  or  three  other  subjects.  For  example, 
the  mass  of  the  people  of  Virginia  were  then  so  angrily 
opposed  to  the  old  connection  between  church  and  state 
that  they  occasionally  saw  danger  even  in  projects 
which  in  no  way  involved  such  a  connection.  This 
was  the  case  with  Patrick  Henry's  necessary  and  most 
innocent  measure  "  for  the  incorporation  of  all  societies 
of  the  Christian  religion  which  may  apply  for  the 
same " ;  likewise,  his  bill  for  the  incorporation  of  the 
clergy  of  the  Episcopal  Church  ;  and,  finally,  his  more 
questionable  and  more  offensive  resolution  for  requiring 
all  citizens  of  the  state  to  contribute  to  the  expense  of 
supporting  some  form  of  religious  worship  according  to 
their  own  preference. 

Whether,  in  these  several  measures,  Patrick  Henry 
was  right  or  wrong,  one  thing,  at  least,  is  obvious  :  no 
politician  who  could  thus  beard  in  his  very  den  the  lion 
of  public  opinion,  can  be  accurately  described  as  a 
demagogue. 

With  respect  to  those  amazing  gifts  of  speech  by 
which,  in  the  house  of  delegates,  he  thus  repeatedly 
swept  all  opposition  out  of  his  way,  and  made  people 
think  as  he  wished  them  to  do,  often  in  the  very  teeth 
of  their  own  immediate  interests  or  prepossessions,  an 
amusing  instance  was  mentioned,  many  years  after 
ward,  by  President  James  Madison.  During  the  war 
Virginia  had  paid  her  soldiers  in  certificates  for  the 


AT  HOME  AND   IN  HOUSE  -OF  DELEGATES.     263 

amounts  due  them,  to  be  redeemed  in  cash  at  some 
future  time.  In  many  cases,  the  poverty  of  the  soldiers 
had  induced  them  to  sell  these  certificates,  for  trifling 
sums  in  ready  money,  to  certain  speculators,  who  were 
thus  making  a  traffic  out  of  the  public  distress.  For 
the  purpose  of  checking  this  cruel  and  harmful  busi 
ness,  Madison  brought  forward  a  suitable  bill,  which,  as 
he  told  the  story,  Patrick  Henry  supported  with  an 
eloquence  so  irresistible  that  it  was  carried  through  the 
house  without  an  opposing  vote ;  while  a  notorious 
speculator  in  these  very  certificates,  having  listened 
from  the  gallery  to  Patrick  Henry's  speech,  at  its  con 
clusion  so  far  forgot  his  own  interest  in  the  question  as 
to  exclaim  —  "  That  bill  ought  to  pass."  l 

Concerning  his  appearance  and  his  manner  of  speech 
in  those  days,  a  bit  of  testimony  comes  down  to  us  from 
Spencer  Roane,  who,  as  he  tells  us,  first  "  met  with 
Patrick  Henry  in  the  assembly  of  1783."  He  adds: 
"  I  also  then  met  with  R.  H.  Lee.  ...  I  lodged  with 
Lee  one  or  two  sessions,  and  was  perfectly  acquainted 
with  him,  while  I  was  yet  a  stranger  to  Mr.  H. 
These  two  gentlemen  were  the  great  leaders  in  the 
house  of  delegates,  and  were  almost  constantly  opposed. 
Notwithstanding  my  habits  of  intimacy  with  Mr.  Lee, 
I  found  myself  obliged  to  vote  with  P.  H.  against  him 
in  '83,  and  against  Madison  in  '84,  .  .  .  but  with  sev 
eral  important  exceptions.  I  voted  against  him  (P. 
H.),  I  recollect,  on  the  subject  of  the  refugees,  —  he 
was  for  permitting  their  return ;  on  the  subject  of  a 
general  assessment ;  and  the  act  incorporating  the  Epis 
copal  Church.  I  voted  with  him,  in  general,  because  he 
was,  I  thought,  a  more  practical  statesman  than  Madi- 
1  Howe,  Hist.  Coll.  Fa.,  222. 


264  PATRICK  HENRY. 

son  (time  has  made  Madison  more  practical),  and  a 
less  selfish  one  than  Lee.  As  an  orator,  Mr.  Henry 
demolished  Madison  with  as  much  ease  as  Samson 
did  the  cords  that  bound  him  before  he  was  shorn. 
Mr.  Lee  held  a  greater  competition.  .  .  .  Mr.  Lee  was 
a  polished  gentleman.  His  person  was  not  very  good ; 
and  he  had  lost  the  use  of  one  of  his  hands  ;  but  his 
manner  was  perfectly  graceful.  His  language  was  al 
ways  chaste,  and  although  somewhat  too  monotonous, 
his  speeches  were  always  pleasing ;  yet  he  did  not 
ravish  your  senses,  nor  carry  away  your  judgment  by 
storm.  .  .  .  Henry  was  almost  always  victorious.  He 
was  as  much  superior  to  Lee  in  temper  as  in  elo 
quence.  .  .  .  Mr.  Henry  was  inferior  to  Lee  in  the 
gracefulness  of  his  action,  and  perhaps  also  in  the 
chasteness  of  his  language ;  yet  his  language  was  seldom 
incorrect,  and  his  address  always  striking.  He  had  a 
fine  blue  eye ;  and  an  earnest  manner  which  made  it 
impossible  not  to  attend  to  him.  His  speaking  was  un 
equal,  and  always  rose  with  the  subject  and  the  exi 
gency.  In  this  respect,  he  entirely  differed  from  Mr. 
Lee,  who  always  was  equal.  At  some  times,  Mr.  Henry 
would  seem  to  hobble,  especially  in  the  beginning  of  his 
speeches ;  and,  at  others,  his  tones  would  be  almost  dis 
agreeable  ;  yet  it  was  by  means  of  his  tones  and  the 
happy  modulation  of  his  voice,  that  his  speaking  per 
haps  had  its  greatest  effect.  He  had  a  happy  articu 
lation,  and  a  clear,  distinct,  strong  voice ;  and  every  syl 
lable  was  distinctly  uttered.  He  was  very  unassuming 
as  to  himself,  amounting  almost  to  humility,  and  very 
respectful  towards  his  competitor  ;  the  consequence 
was  that  no  feeling  of  disgust  or  animosity  was  arrayed 
against  him.  His  exordiums  in  particular  were  often 


AT  HOME  AND  IN  HOUSE   OF  DELEGATES.     265 

hobbling  and  always  unassuming.  He  knew  mankind 
too  well  to  promise  much.  .  .  .  He  was  great  at  a  re 
ply,  and  greater  in  proportion  to  the  pressure  which 
was  bearing  upon  him.  The  resources  of  his  mind  and 
of  his  eloquence  were  equal  to  any  drafts  which  could 
be  made  upon  them.  He  took  but  short  notes  of  what 
fell  from  his  adversaries,  and  disliked  the  drudgery  of 
composition ;  yet  it  is  a  mistake  to  say  that  he  could 
not  write  well."  * 

i  MS. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

SHALL     THE     CONFEDERATION     BE     MADE     STRONGER? 

WE  have  now  arrived  at  the  second  period  of  Patrick 
Henry's  service  as  governor  of  Virginia,  beginning  with 
the  30th  of  November,  1784.  For  the  four  or  five 
years  immediately  following  that  date,  the  salient  facts 
in  his  career  seem  to  group  themselves  around  the 
story  of  his  relation  to  that  vast  national  movement 
which  ended  in  an  entire  reorganization  of  the  Ameri 
can  Republic  under  a  new  constitution.  Whoever 
will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  the  evidence  now  at 
hand  bearing  upon  the  case,  can  hardly  fail  to  convince 
himself  that  the  true  story  of  Patrick  Henry's  opposi 
tion  to  that  great  movement  has  never  yet  been  told. 
Men  have  usually  misconceived,  when  they  have  not  al 
together  overlooked,  the  motives  for  his  opposition,  the 
spirit  in  which  he  conducted  it,  and  the  beneficent 
effects  which  were  accomplished  by  it ;  while  his  ulti 
mate  and  firm  approval  of  the  new  constitution,  after  it 
had  received  the  chief  amendments  called  for  by  his 
criticisms,  has  been  passionately  described  as  an  ex 
ample  of  gross  political  fickleness  and  inconsistency, 
instead  of  being,  as  it  really  was,  a  most  logical  proced 
ure  on  his  part,  and  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  princi 
ples  underlying  his  whole  public  career. 

Before  entering  on  a  story  so  fascinating  for  the 
light  it  throws  on  the  man  and  on  the  epoch,  it  is  well 


THE  CONFEDERATION  STRONGER?     267 

that  we  should  stay  long  enough  to  glance  at  what  we 
may  call  the  incidental  facts  in  his  life,  for  these  four 
or  five  years  now  to  be  looked  into. 

Not  far  from  the  time  of  his  thus  entering  once  more 
upon  the  office  of  governor,  occurred  the  death  of  his 
aged  mother,  at  the  home  of  his  brother-in-law,  Colonel 
Samuel  Meredith,  of  Winton,  who,  in  a  letter  to  the 
governor,  dated  November  22,  1784,  speaks  tenderly 
of  the  long  illness  which  had  preceded  the  death  of  the 
venerable  lady,  and  especially  of  the  strength  and  beauty 
of  her  character :  "  She  has  been  in  my  family  up 
wards  of  eleven  years  ;  and  from  the  beginning  of  that 
time  to  the  end,  her  life  appeared  to  me  most  evidently 
to  be  a  continued  manifestation  of  piety  and  devotion, 
guided  by  such  a  great  share  of  good  sense  as  rendered 
her  amiable  and  agreeable  to  all  who  were  so  happy  as 
to  be  acquainted  with  her.  Never  have  I  known  a 
Christian  character  equal  to  hers."  1 

On  bringing  his  family  to  the  capital,  in  November, 
1784,  from  the  far  away  solitude  of  Leatherwood,  the 
governor  established  them,  not  within  the  city  itself, 
but  across  the  James  River,  at  a  place  called  Salisbury. 
What  with  children  and  with  grandchildren,  his  family 
had  now  become  a  patriarchal  one;  and  some  slight 
glimpse  of  himself  and  of  his  manner  of  life  at  that  time 
is  given  us  in  the  memorandum  of  Spencer  Roane.  In 
deference  to  "  the  ideas  attached  to  the  office  of  gov 
ernor,  as  handed  down  from  the  royal  government,"  he 
is  said  to  have  paid  careful  attention  to  his  costume  and 
personal  bearing  before  the  public,  never  going  abroad 
except  in  black  coat,  waistcoat,  and  knee-breeches,  in 
scarlet  cloak,  and  in  dressed  wig.  Moreover,  his  family 
i  MS. 


268  PATRICK  HENRY. 

"  were  furnished  with  an  excellent  coach,  at  a  time 
when  these  vehicles  were  not  so  common  as  at  present. 
They  lived  as  genteelly,  and  associated  with  as  polished 
society,  as  that  of  any  governor  before  or  since  has  ever 
done.  He  entertained  as  much  company  as  others,  and 
in  as  genteel  a  style ;  and  when,  at  the  end  of  two 
years,  he  resigned  the  office,  he  had  greatly  exceeded 
the  salary,  and  [was]  in  debt,  which  was  one  cause  that 
induced  him  to  resume  the  practice  of  the  law."  l 

During  his  two  years  in  the  governorship,  his  duties 
concerned  matters  of  much  local  importance,  indeed, 
but  of  no  particular  interest  at  present.  To  this  re 
mark  one  exception  may  be  found  in  some  passages 
of  friendly  correspondence  between  the  governor  and 
Washington,  —  the  latter  then  enjoying  the  long-coveted 
repose  of  Mt.  Vernon.  In  January,  1785,  the  assembly 
of  Virginia  vested  in  Washington  certain  shares  in 
two  companies,  just  then  formed,  for  opening  and  ex 
tending  the  'navigation  of  the  James  and  Potomac 
rivers.2  In  response  to  Governor  Henry's  letter  com 
municating  this  act,  Washington  wrote  on  the  27th  of 
February,  stating  his  doubts  about  accepting  such  a 
gratuity,  but  at  the  same  time  asking  the  governor 
as  a  friend  to  assist  him  in  the  matter  by  his  advice. 
Governor  Henry's  reply  is  of  interest  to  us,  not  only 
for  its  allusion  to  his  own  domestic  anxieties  at  the 
time,  but  for  its  revelation  of  the  frank  and  cordial  rela 
tions  between  the  two  men  :  — 

"RICHMOND,  March  12lk,  1785. 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  The  honor  you  are  pleased  to  do  me, 
in  your  favor  of  the  27th  ultimo,  in  which  you  desire  my 
1  MS.  2  Hening,  xi.  525-526. 


THE   CONFEDERATION  STRONGER*  269 

opinion  in  a  friendly  way  concerning  the  act  enclosed 
you  lately,  is  very  flattering  to  me.  I  did  not  receive 
the  letter  till  Thursday,  and  since  that  my  family  has 
been  very  sickly.  My  oldest  grandson,  a  fine  boy  in 
deed,  about  nine  years  old,  lays  at  the  point  of  death. 
Under  this  state  of  uneasiness  and  perturbation,  I  feel 
some  unfitness  to  consider  a  subject  of  so  delicate  a  na 
ture  as  that  you  have  desired  my  thoughts  on.  Besides, 
I  have  some  expectation  of  a  conveyance  more  proper, 
it  may  be,  than  the  present,  when  I  would  wish  to  send 
you  some  packets  received  from  Ireland,  which  I  fear 
the  post  cannot  carry  at  once.  If  he  does  not  take  them 
free,  I  shan't  send  them,  for  they  are  heavy.  Captain 
Boyle,  who  had  them  from  Sir  Edward  Newenham, 
wishes  for  the  honor  of  a  line  from  you,  which  I  have 
promised  to  forward  to  him. 

"  I  will  give  you  the  trouble  of  hearing  from  me  next 
post,  if  no  opportunity  presents  sooner,  and,  in  the  mean 
time,  I  beg  you  to  be  persuaded  that,  with  the  most 
sincere  attachment,  I  am,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient 
servant, 

"GENERAL  WASHINGTON."  "  P'  HENRY.1 

The  promise  contained  in  this  letter  was  fulfilled  on 
the  19th  of  the  same  month,  when  the  governor  wrote 
to  Washington  a  long  and  careful  statement  of  the 
whole  case,  urging  him  to  accept  the  shares,  and  clos 
ing  his  letter  with  an  assurance  of  his  "  unalterable 
affection"  and  "most  sincere  attachment,"2 — a  sub 
scription  not  common  among  public  men  at  that  time. 

1  MS. 

2  Sparks,  Corr.  JRev.,  iv.  93-96.     See,  also,  Washington's  letter  to 
Henry,  for  Nov.  30,  1785,  in  Writings  of  W.  xii.  277-278. 


270  PATRICK   HENRY. 

On  the  30th  of  November,  1786,  having  declined  to 
be  put  in  nomination  for  a  third  year,  as  permitted  by 
the  constitution,  he  finally  retired  from  the  office  of 
governor.  The  house  of  delegates,  about  the  same 
time,  by  unanimous  vote,  crowned  him  with  the  public 
thanks,  "  for  his  wise,  prudent,  and  upright  administra 
tion,  during  his  last  appointment  of  chief  magistrate  of 
this  commonwealth  ;  assuring  him  that  they  retain  a 
perfect  sense  of  his  abilities  in  the  discharge  of  the 'du 
ties  of  that  high  and  important  office,  and  wish  him  all 
domestic  happiness  on  his  return  to  private  life."  1 

This  return  to  private  life  meant,  among  other  things, 
his  return,  after  an  interruption  of  more  than  twelve 
years,  to  the  practice  of  the  law.  For  this  purpose  he 
deemed  it  best  to  give  up  his  remote  home  at  Leather- 
wood,  and  to  establish  himself  in  Prince  Edward 
County  —  a  place  about  midway  between  his  former 
residence  and  the  capital,  and  much  better  suited  to  his 
convenience,  as  an  active  practitioner  in  the  courts.  Ac 
cordingly,  in  Prince  Edward  County  he  continued  to 
reside  from  the  latter  part  of  1786  until  1795.  Further 
more,  by  that  county  he  was  soon  elected  as  one  of  its 
delegates  in  the  assembly  ;  and  resuming  there  his  old 
position  of  leader,  he  continued  to  serve  in  every 
session  until  the  end  of  1790,  at  which  time  he  finally 
withdrew  from  all  official  connection  with  public  life- 
Thus  it  happened  that,  by  his  retirement  from  the  gov 
ernorship  in  1786,  and  by  his  almost  immediate  restora 
tion  to  the  house  of  delegates,  he  was  put  into  a  situa 
tion  to  act  most  aggressively  and  most  powerfully  on 
public  opinion  in  Virginia  during  the  whole  period  of 
the  struggle  over  the  new  constitution. 

1  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.  for  Nov.  25,  1786. 


THE   CONFEDERATION  STRONGER?  271 

As  regards  his  attitude  toward  that  great  business, 
we  need,  first  of  all,  to  clear  away  some  obscurity  which 
has  gathered  about  the  question  of  his  habitual  views 
respecting  the  relations  of  the  several  states  to  the  gen 
eral  government.  It  has  been  common  to  suppose  that, 
even  prior  to  the  movement  for  the  new  constitution, 
Patrick  Henry  had  always  been  an  extreme  advocate 
of  the  rights  of  the  states  as  opposed  to  the  central  au 
thority  of  the  union  ;  and  that  the  tremendous  resist 
ance  which  he  made  to  the  new  constitution  in  all  stages 
of  the  affair  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  first  group  of 
amendments,  is  to  be  accounted  for  as  the  effect  of  an 
original  and  habitual  tendency  of  his  mind.1  Such, 
however,  seems  not  to  have  been  the  case. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  at  the  very  outset  of 
the  revolution,  Patrick  Henry  was  one  of  the  first  of 
our  statesmen  to  recognize  the  existence  and  the  im 
perial  character  of  a  certain  cohesive  central  authority, 
arising  from  the  very  nature  of  the  revolutionary  act 
which  the  several  colonies  were  then  taking.  As  early 
as  1774,  in  the  first  continental  congress,  it  was  he 
who  exclaimed :  "  All  distinctions  are  thrown  down, 
All  America  is  thrown  into  one  mass."  "  The  distinc 
tions  between  Virginians,  Pennsylvanians,  New  York 
ers,  and  New  Englanders,  are  no  more.  I"  am  not  a 
Virginian,  but  an  American."  In  the  spring  of  1776, 
at  the  approach  of  the  question  of  independence,  it  was 
he  who  even  incurred  reproach  by  his  anxiety  to  defer 
independence  until  after  the  basis  for  a  general  govern 
ment  should  have  been  established,  lest  the  several 
states,  in  separating  from  England,  should  lapse  into  a 
separation  from  one  another  also.  As  governor  of  Vir- 
i  For  example,  Curtis,  Hist.  Const.,  ii.  553-554. 


272  PATRICK  HENRY. 

ginia  from  1776  to  1779,  his  official  correspondence 
with  the  president  of  congress,  with  the  board  of  war, 
and  with  the  general  of  the  army,  is  pervaded  by  proofs 
of  his  respect  for  the  supreme  authority  of  the  general 
government  within  its  proper  sphere.  Finally,  as  a 
leader  in  the  Virginia  house  of  delegates  from  1780  to 
1784,  he  was  in  the  main  a  supporter  of  the  policy  of 
giving  more  strength  arid  dignity  to  the  general  gov 
ernment.  During  all  that  period,  according  to  the  ad 
mission  of  his  most  unfriendly  modern  critic,  Patrick 
Henry  showed  himself  "  much  more  disposed  to  sustain 
and  strengthen  the  federal  authority "  than  did,  for 
example,  his  great  rival  in  the  house,  Richard  Henry 
Lee ;  and  for  the  time,  those  two  great  men  became 
"  the  living  and  active  exponents  of  two  adverse  polit 
ical  systems  in  both  state  and  national  questions."  ]  In 
1784,  by  which  time  the  weakness  of  the  general  gov 
ernment  had  become  alarming,  Patrick  Henry  was 
among  the  foremost  in  Virginia  to  express  alarm,  and 
to  propose  the  only  appropriate  remedy.  For  example, 
on  the  assembling  of  the  legislature,  in  May  of  that 
year,  he  took  pains  to  seek  an  early  interview  with  two 
of  his  prominent  associates  in  the  house  of  delegates, 
Madison  and  Jones,  for  the  express  purpose  of  devising 
with  them  some  method  of  giving  greater  strength  to 
the  confederation.  "I  find  him,"  wrote  Madison  to 
Jefferson,  immediately  after  the  interview,  "  strenuous 
for  invigorating  the  federal  government,  though  without 
any  precise  plan.'1 2  A  more  detailed  account  of  the 
same  interview  was  sent  to  Jefferson  by  another  cor 
respondent.  According  to  the  latter,  Patrick  Henry 

1  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  i.  536-537. 

2  Madison,  Letters,  etc.,  i.  80. 


THE  CONFEDERATION  STRONGER?     273 

then  declared  that  "  he  saw  ruin  inevitable,  unless  some 
thing  was  done  to  give  congress  a  compulsory  process 
on  delinquent  states  ;  "  that  "  a  bold  example  set  by 
Virginia  "  in  that  direction  "  would  have  influence  on 
the  other  states  ;  "  and  that  "  this  conviction  was  his 
only  inducement  for  coming  into  the  present  assembly." 
Whereupon,  it  was  then  agreed  between  them  that 
"  Jones  and  Madison  should  sketch  some  plan  for  giv 
ing  greater  power  to  the  federal  government ;  arid 
Henry  promised  to  sustain  it  on  the  floor."  l  Finally, 
such  was  the  impression  produced  by  Patrick  Henry's 
political  conduct  during  all  those  years  that,  as  late  as 
in  December,  1786,  Madison  could  speak  of  him  as  hav 
ing  "been  hitherto  the  champion  of  the  federal  cause."2 

Not  far,  however,  from  the  date  last  mentioned  Pat 
rick  Henry  ceased  to  be  "  the  champion  of  the  federal 
cause,"  and  became  its  chief  antagonist,  and  so  remained 
until  some  time  during  Washington's  first  term  in  the 
presidency.  What  brought  about  this  sudden  and  total 
revolution  ?  It  can  be  explained  only  by  the  discovery 
of  some  new  influence  which  came  into  his  life  between 
1784  and  1786,  and  which  was  powerful  enough  to  re 
verse  entirely  the  habitual  direction  of  his  political 
thought  and  conduct.  Just  what  that  influence  was  can 
now  be  easily  shown. 

On  the  3d  of  August,  1786,  John  Jay,  as  secretary 
for  foreign  affairs,  presented  to  congress  some  results 
of  his  negotiations  with  the  Spanish  envoy,  Gardoqui, 
respecting  a  treaty  with  Spain ;  and  he  then  urged 
that  congress,  in  view  of  certain  vast  advantages  to  our 
foreign  commerce,  should  consent  to  surrender  the  navi- 

1  Bancroft,  Hist.  Const.,  i.  162. 

2  Madison,  Letters,  etc.,  i.  264. 


274  PATRICK  HENRY. 

gat  ion  of  the  Mississippi  for  twenty-five  or  thirty  years,1 
—  a  proposal  which,  very  naturally,  seemed  to  the  six 
southern  states  as  nothing  less  than  a  cool  invitation  to 
them  to  sacrifice  their  own  most  important  interests  for 
the  next  quarter  of  a  century,  in  order  to  build  up  dur 
ing  that  period  the  interests  of  the  seven  states  of  the 
north.  The  revelation  of  this  project,  and  of  the  ability 
of  the  northern  states  to  force  it  through,  sent  a  shock 
of  alarm  and  of  distrust  into  every  southern  community. 
Moreover,  full  details  of  these  transactions  in  congress 
were  promptly  conveyed  to  Governor  Henry  by  James 
Monroe,  who  added  this  pungent  item,  —  that  a  secret 
project  was  then  under  the  serious  consideration  of 
"  committees  "  of  northern  men,  for  a  dismemberment 
of  the  union,  and  for  setting  the  southern  states  adrift, 
after  having  thus  bartered  away  from  them  the  use  of 
the  Mississippi.2 

On  the  same  day  that  Monroe  was  writing  from  New 
York  that  letter  to  Governor  Henry,  Madison  was  writ 
ing  from  Philadelphia  a  letter  to  Jefferson.  Having 
mentioned  a  plan  for  strengthening  the  confederation, 
Madison  says :  "  Though  my  wishes  are  in  favor  of 
such  an  event,  yet  I  despair  so  much  of  its  accomplish 
ment  at  the  present  crisis,  that  I  do  not  extend  my 
views  beyond  a  commercial  reform.  To  speak  the 
truth,  I  almost  despair  even  of  this.  You  will  find  the 
cause  in  a  measure  now  before  congress,  ...  a  pro 
posed  treaty  with  Spain,  one  article  of  which  shuts 
the  Mississippi  for  twenty  or  thirty  years.  Passing  by 
the  other  southern  states,  figure  to  yourself  the  effect  of 
such  a  stipulation  on  the  assembly  of  Virginia,  already 

1  Secret  Jour.  Cong.,  iv.  44-63. 

2  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  ii.  122. 


TEE  CONFEDERATION  STRONGER?     275 

jealous  of  northern  politics,  and  which  will  be  com 
posed  of  thirty  members  from  the  western  waters,  —  of 
a  majority  of  others  attached  to  the  western  country 
from  interests  of  their  own,  of  their  friends,  or  their 
constituents.  .  .  .  Figure  to  yourself  its  effect  on  the 
people  at  large  on  the  western  waters,  who  are  impa 
tiently  waiting  for  a  favorable  result  to  the  negotiation 
with  Gardoqui,  and  who  will  consider  themselves  sold 
by  their  Atlantic  brethren.  Will  it  be  an  unnatural 
consequence  if  they  consider  themselves  absolved  from 
every  federal  tie,  and  court  some  protection  for  their 
betrayed  rights  ?  " 

How  truly  Madison  predicted  the  fatal  construction 
which,  in  the  south,  and  particularly  in  Virginia,  would 
be  put  upon  the  proposed  surrender  of  the  Mississippi, 
may  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  some  of  the  resolutions 
which  passed  the  Virginia  house  of  delegates,  on  the 

29th  of  the  following  November :  — 

I 

"  That  the  common  right  of  navigating  the  river 
Mississippi,  and  of  communicating  with  other  nations 
through  that  channel,  ought  to  be  considered  as  the 
bountiful  gift  of  nature  to  the  United  States,  as  pro 
prietors  of  the  territories  watered  by  the  said  river  and 
its  eastern  branches,  and  as  moreover  secured  to  them 
by  the  late  revolution. 

"  That  the  confederacy,  having  been  formed  on  the 
broad  basis  of  equal  rights,  in  every  part  thereof,  to  the 
protection  and  guardianship  of  the  whole,  a  sacrifice  of 
the  rights  of  any  one  part,  to  the  supposed  or  real  in 
terest  of  another  part,  would  be  a  flagrant  violation  of 
justice,  a  direct  contravention  of  the  end  for  which  the 
i  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  ii.  119-120. 


276  PATRICK  HENRY. 

federal  government  was  instituted,  and  an  alarming  in 
novation  in  the  system  of  the  union."  1 

One  day  after  the  passage  of  those  resolutions,  Pat 
rick  Henry  ceased  to  be  the  governor  of  Virginia ;  and 
five  days  afterward  he  was  chosen  by  Virginia  as  one 
of  its  seven  delegates  to  a  convention  to  be  held  at 
Philadelphia  in  the  following  May,  for  the  purpose  of 
revising  the  federal  constitution.  But  amid  the  wide 
spread  excitement,  amid  the  anger  and  the  suspicion 
then  prevailing,  as  to  the  liability  of  the  southern  states, 
even  under  a  weak  confederation,  to  be  slaughtered, 
in  all  their  most  important  concerns,  by  the  superior 
weight  and  number  of  the  northern  states,  it  is  easy  to 
see  how  little  inclined  many  southern  statesmen  would 
be  to  increase  that  liability  by  making  this  weak  con 
federation  a  strong  one.  In  the  list  of  such  southern 
statesmen,  Patrick  Henry  must  henceforth  be  reckoned  ; 
and  as  it  was  never  his  nature  to  do  anything  tepidly  or 
by  halves,  his  hostility  to  the  project  for  strengthening 
the  confederation  soon  became  as  hot  as  it  was  compre 
hensive.  On  the  7th  of  December,  only  three  days 
after  lie  was  chosen  as  a  delegate  to  the  Philadelphia 
convention,  Madison,  then  at  Richmond,  wrote  concern 
ing  him  thus  anxiously  to  Washington :  "  I  am  en 
tirely  convinced  from  what  I  observe  here,  that  unless 
the  project  of  congress  can  be  reversed,  the  hopes  of 
carrying  this  state  into  a  proper  federal  system  will  be 
demolished.  Many  of  our  most  federal  leading  men  are 
extremely  soured  with  what  has  already  passed.  Mr. 
Henry,  who  has  been  hitherto  the  champion  of  the 
federal  cause,  has  become  a  cold  advocate,  and  in  the 
event  of  an  actual  sacrifice  of  the  Mississippi  by  con- 
l  Jour.  Fa.  House  Del,,  66-67. 


THE  CONFEDERATION  STRONGER?     277 

gress,    will    unquestionably   go    over   to    the   opposite 
side."  l  . 

But  in  spite  of  this  change  in  his  attitude  toward  the 
federal  cause,  perhaps  he  would  still  go  to  the  great 
convention.  On  that  subject  he  appears  to  have  kept 
his  own  counsel  for  several  weeks  ;  but  by  the  1st  of 
March,  1787,  Edmund  Randolph,  at  Richmond,  was 
able  to  send  this  word  to  Madison,  who  was  back  in  his 
place  in  congress  :  "  Mr.  Henry  peremptorily  refuses  to 
go;"  and  Randolph  mentions  as  Henry's  reasons  for 
this  refusal,  not  only  his  urgent  professional  duties,  but 
his  repugnance  to  the  proceedings  of  congress  in  the 
matter  of  the  Mississippi.2  Five  days  later,  from  the 
same  city,  John  Marshall  wrote  to  Arthur  Lee :  "  Mr. 
Henry,  whose  opinions  have  their  usual  influence,  has 
been  heard  to  say  that  he  would  rather  part  with  the 
confederation  than  relinquish  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi."3  On  the  18th  of  the  same  month,  in  a 
letter  to  Washington,  Madison  poured  out  his  solicitude 
respecting  the  course  which  Henry  was  going  to  take  : 
"  I  hear  from  Richmond,  with  much  concern,  that  Mr. 
Henry  has  positively  declined  his  mission  to  Philadelphia. 
Besides  the  loss  of  his  services  on  that  theatre,  there  is 
danger,  I  fear,  that  this  step  has  proceeded  from  a  wish 
to  leave  his  conduct  unfettered  on  another  theatre, 
where  the  result  of  the  convention  will  receive  its 
destiny  from  his  omnipotence." 4  On  the  next  day, 
Madison  sent  off  to  Jefferson,  who  was  then  in  Paris, 
an  account  of  the  situation :  "  But  although  it  appears 


1  Madison,  Letters,  etc.,  i.  264. 

2  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  ii.  238-239. 

3  R.  H.  Lee,  Life  of  A.  Lee,  ii.  321. 

4  Sparks,  Corr.  Rev.,  iv.  168. 


278  PATRICK  HENRY. 

that  the  intended  sacrifice  of  the  Mississippi  will  not  be 
made,  the  consequences  of  the  intention  and  the  attempt 
are  likely  to  be  very  serious.  I  have  already  made 
known  to  you  the  light  in  which  the  subject  was  taken 
up  by  Virginia.  Mr.  Henry's  disgust  exceeds  all  meas 
ure,  and  I  am  not  singular  in  ascribing  his  refusal  to  at 
tend  the  convention,  to  the  policy  of  keeping  himself 
free  to  combat  or  espouse  the  result  of  it  according  to 
the  result  of  the  Mississippi  business,  among  other 
circumstances."  1 

Finally,  on  the  25th  of  March,  Madison  wrote  to 
Randolph,  evidently  in  reply  to  the  information  given 
by  the  latter  on  the  1st  of  the  month  :  "The  refusal  of 
Mr.  Henry  to  join  in  the  task  of  revising  the  confedera 
tion  is  ominous  ;  and  the  more  so,  I  fear,  if  he  means  to 
be  governed  by  the  event  which  you  conjecture."  2 

That  Patrick  Henry  did  not  attend  the  great  conven 
tion,  everybody  knows ;  but  the  whole  meaning  of  his 
refusal  to  do  so,  everybody  may  now  understand  some 
what  more  clearly,  perhaps,  than  before. 

i  Madison  Papers,  ii.  623.  2  Ibid.  627. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE    BATTLE    IN    VIRGINIA    OVER   THE    NEW   CONSTITU 
TION. 

THE  great  convention  at  Philadelphia,  after  a  ses 
sion  of  four  months,  came  to  the  end  of  its  noble  labors 
on  the  17th  of  September,  1787.  Washington,  who 
had  been  not  merely  its  presiding  officer  but  its  presid 
ing  genius,  then  hastened  back  to  Mt.  Vernon,  and  in 
his  great  anxiety  to  win  over  to  the  new  constitution 
the  support  of  his  old  friend,  Patrick  Henry,  he  im 
mediately  dispatched  to  him  a  copy  of  that  instrument, 
accompanied  by  a  very  impressive  and  conciliatory  let 
ter,1  to  which,  about  three  weeks  afterwards,  was  re 
turned  the  following  reply  :  — 

"RICHMOND,  October  19,  1787. 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  was  honored  by  the  receipt  of  your 
favor  together  with  a  copy  of  the  proposed  federal  con 
stitution,  a  few  days  ago,  for  which  I  beg  you  to  ac^ 
cept  my  thanks.  They  are  also  due  to  you  from  me  as 
a  citizen,  on  account  of  the  great  fatigue  necessarily 
attending  the  arduous  business  of  the  late  convention. 

"  I  have  to  lament  that  I  cannot  bring  my  mind  to 
accord  with  the  proposed  constitution.  The  concern  I 
feel  on  this  account  is  really  greater  than  I  am  able  to 
express.  Perhaps  mature  reflections  may  furnish  me 
with  reasons  to  change  my  present  sentiments  into  a 
i  Writings  of  Washington,  ix.  265-266. 


280  PATRICK  HENRY. 

conformity  with  the  opinions  of  those  personages  for 
whom  I  have  the  highest  reverence.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
I  beg  you  will  he  persuaded  of  the  unalterable  regard 
and  attachment  with  which  I  shall  be, 

"  Dear  Sir,  Your  obliged  and  very  humble  servant 

"  P.  HENRY.1 

Four  days  before  the  date  of  this  letter  the  legis 
lature  of  Virginia  had  convened  at  Richmond  for  its 
autumn  session,  and  Patrick  Henry  had  there  taken 
his  usual  place  on  the  most  important  committees,  and 
as  the  virtual  director  of  the  thought  and  work  of  the 
house.  Much  solicitude  was  felt  concerning  the  course 
which  he  might  advise  the  legislature  to  adopt  on  the 
supreme  question  then  before  the  country,  —  some  per 
sons  even  fearing  that  he  might  try  to  defeat  the  new 
constitution  in  Virginia,  by  simply  preventing  the  call 
of  a  state  convention.  Great  was  Wasliii'irton's  sat- 

O 

isfaction  on  receiving  from  one  of  his  correspondents 
in  the  assembly,  shortly  after  the  session  began,  this 
cheerful  report :  "  I  have  not  met  with  one  in  all  my  in 
quiries  (and  I  have  made  them  with  great  diligence)  op 
posed  to  it,  except  Mr.  Henry,  who  I  have  heard  is  so, 
but  could  only  conjecture  it  from  a  conversation  with 
him  on  the  subject.  .  .  .  The  transmissory  note  of  con 
gress  was  before  us  to-day,  when  Mr.  Henry  declared 
that  it  transcended  our  powers  to  decide  on  the  con 
stitution,  and  that  it  must  go  before  a  convention.  As 
it  was  insinuated  he  would  aim  at  preventing  this,  much 
pleasure  was  discovered  at  the  declaration."  2 

On  the  24th  of  October,  from  his  place  in  congress, 
Madison  sent  over  to  Jefferson,  in  Paris,  a  full  account 

i  MS.  '2    Writings  of  Washington,  ix.  273. 


BATTLE   OVER    THE   NEW   CONSTITUTION.     281 

of  the  results  of  the  Philadelphia  convention,  and  of 
the  public  feeling  with  reference  to  its  work  :  'k  My  in 
formation  from  Virginia  is  as  yet  extremely  imperfect. 
.  .  .  The  part  which  Mr.  Henry  will  take  is  unknown 
here.  Much  will  depend  on  it.  I  had  taken  it  for 
granted,  from  a  variety  of  circumstances,  that  he  would 
be  in  the  opposition,  and  still  think  that  will  be  the 
case.  There  are  reports,  however,  which  favor  a  con 
trary  supposition." *  But,  by  the  9th  of  December, 
Madison  was  able  to  send  to  Jefferson  a  further  report, 
which  indicated  that  all  doubt  respecting  the  hostile 
attitude  of  Patrick  Henry  was  then  removed.  After 
mentioning  that  a  majority  of  the  people  of  Virginia 
seemed  to  be  in  favor  of  the  constitution,  he  added'. 
"  What  change  may  be  produced  by  the  united  influence 
and  exertions  of  Mr.  Henry,  Mr.  Mason,  and  the  gover 
nor,  with  some  pretty  able  auxiliaries,  is  uncertain.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Henry  is  the  great  adversary  who  will  render  the 
event  precarious.  He  is,  I  find,  with  his  usual  address, 
working  up  every  possible  interest  into  a  spirit  of  op 
position."  2 

Long  before  the  date  last  mentioned,  the  legislature 
had  regularly  declared  for  a  state  convention,  to  be  held 
at  Richmond  on  the  first  Monday  in  June,  1788,  then 
and  there  to  determine  whether  or  not  Virginia  would 
accept  the  new  constitution.  In  view  of  that  event, 
delegates  were  in  the  mean  time  to  be  chosen  by  the 
people  ;  and  thus,  for  the  intervening  months,  the  fight 
was  to  be  transferred  to  the  arena  of  popular  debate. 
In  such  a  contest  Patrick  Henry,  being  once  aroused, 
was  not  likely  to  take  a  languid  or  a  hesitating  part ; 

1  Madison,  Letters,  etc.,  i.  356. 

2  Ibid.  i.  364-365. 


282  PATRICK  HENRY. 

and  of  the  importance  then  attached  to  the  part  which 
he  did  take,  we  catch  frequent  glimpses  in  the  cor 
respondence  of  the  period.  Thus,  on  the  19th  of  Feb 
ruary,  1788,  Madison,  still  at  New  York,  sent  this  word 
to  Jefferson  :  "  The  temper  of  Virginia,  as  far  as  I  can 
learn,  has  undergone  but  little  change  of  late.  At  first, 
there  was  an  enthusiasm  for  the  constitution.  The  tide 
next  took  a  sudden  and  strong  turn  in  the  opposite  di 
rection.  The  influence  and  exertions  of  Mr.  Henry, 
Colonel  Mason,  and  some  others,  will  account  for  this. 
...  I  am  told  that  a  very  bold  language  is  held  by 
Mr.  Henry  and  some  of  his  partisans."1  On  the  10th  of 
April,  Madison,  then  returned  to  his  home  in  Virginia, 
wrote  to  Edmund  Randolph  :  "  The  declaration  of 
Henry,  mentioned  in  your  letter,  is  a  proof  to  me  that 
desperate  measures  will  be  his  game."  2  On  the  22d  of 
the  same  month,  Madison  wrote  to  Jefferson  :  "  The 
adversaries  take  very  different  grounds  of  opposition. 
Some  are  opposed  to  the  substance  of  the  plan  ;  others, 
to  particular  modifications  only.  Mr.  Henry  is  sup 
posed  to  aim  at  disunion."8  On  the  24th  of  April,  Ed 
ward  Carrington,  writing  from  New  York,  told  Jeffer 
son  :  "  Mr.  H.  does  not  openly  declare  for  a  dismember 
ment  of  the  union,  but  his  arguments  in  support  of  his 
opposition  to  the  constitution  go  directly  to  that  issue. 
He  says  that  three  confederacies  would  be  practicable, 
and  better  suited  to  the  good  of  commerce  than  one."  4 
On  the  28th  of  April,  Washington  wrote  to  Lafayette 
an  account  of  the  struggle  then  going  forward  ;  and 
after  naming  some  of  the  leading  champions  of  the  con 
stitution,  he  adds,  sorrowfully  :  "  Henry  and  Mason  are 

i  Madison,  Letters,  etc.,  i.  378.  2  Ibid.  i.  387. 

»  Ibid.  i.  388.  4  Bancroft,  Hist.  Const.,  ii.  465. 


BATTLE    OVER   THE  NEW   CONSTITUTION.     283 

its  great  adversaries."  1  Finally,  as  late  as  on  the  12th 
of  June,  the  Reverend  John  Blair  Smith,  at  that  time 
president  of  Hampden  -  Sidney  College,  conveyed  to 
Madison,  an  old  college-friend,  his  own  deep  disap 
proval  of  the  course  which  had  been  pursued  by  Patrick 
Henry  in  the  management  of  the  cunvass  against  the 
constitution :  "  Before  the  constitution  appeared,  the 
minds  of  the  people  were  artfully  prepared  against  it; 
so  that  all  opposition  [to  Mr.  Henry]  at  the  election 
of  delegates  to  consider  it,  was  in  vain.  That  gentle 
man  has  descended  to  lower  artifices  and  management 
on  the  occasion  than  I  thought  him  capable  of.  ...  If 
Mr.  Innes  has  shown  you  a  speech  of  Mr.  Henry  to  his 
constituents,  which  I  sent  him,  you  will  see  something 
of  the  method  he  has  taken  to  diffuse  his  poison.  .  .  . 
It  grieves  me  to  see  such  great  natural  talents  abused 
to  such  purposes."  a 

On  Monday,  the  2d  of  June,  1788,  the  long-expected 
convention  assembled  at  Richmond.  So  great  was  the 
public  interest  in  the  event,  that  a  full  delegation  was 
present,  even  on  the  first  day  ;  and  in  order  to  make  room 
for  the  throngs  of  citizens  from  all  parts  of  Virginia 
and  from  other  states,  who  had  flocked  thither  to 
witness  the  impending  battle,  it  was  decided  that  the 
convention  should  hold  its  meetings  in  the  New  Acad 
emy,  on  Shockoe  Hill,  the  largest  assembly-room  in  the 
city. 

Eight  states  had  already  adopted  the  constitution. 
The  five  states  which  had  yet  to  act  upon  the  question 
were  New  Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  North 
Carolina,  and  Virginia.  For  every  reason,  the  course 

1  Writings  of  Washington,  ix.  356. 

2  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  ii.  544,  note. 


284  PATRICK   HENRY. 

then  to  be  taken  by  Virginia  would  have  great  conse 
quences.  Moreover,  since  the  days  of  the  struggle  over 
independence,  no  question  had  so  profoundly  moved  the 
people  of  Virginia ;  none  had  aroused  such  hopes  and 
such  fears,  none  had  so  absorbed  the  thoughts,  or  so 
embittered  the  relations,  of  men.  It  is  not  strange* 
therefore,  that  this  convention,  consisting  of  one  hun 
dred  and  seventy  members,  should  have  been  thought 
to  represent,  to  an  unusual  degree,  the  intelligence,  the 
character,  the  experience,  the  reputation,  of  the  state. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  true  to  say  that,  excepting  Wash 
ington,  Jefferson,  and  Richard  Henry  Lee,  no  Virginian 
of  eminence  was  absent  from  it. 

Furthermore,  the  line  of  division,  which  from  the  out 
set  parted  into  two  hostile  sections  these  one  hundred 
and  seventy  Virginians,  was  something  quite  unparal 
leled.  In  other  states  it  had  been  noted  that  the  con 
servative  classes,  the  men  of  education  and  of  property, 
of  high  office,  of  high  social  and  professional  standing, 
were  nearly  all  on  the  side  of  the  new  constitution. 
Such  was  not  the  case  in  Virginia.  Of  the  conservative 
classes  throughout  that  state,  quite  as  many  were 
against  the  new  constitution  as  were  in  favor  of  it.  Of 
the  four  distinguished  citizens  who  had  been  its  gov^ 
ernors,  since  Virginia  had  assumed  the  right  to  elect 
governors,  —  Patrick  Henry,  Jefferson,  Nelson,  and 
Harrison,  —  each  in  turn  had  denounced  the  measure 
as  unsatisfactory  and  dangerous  ;  while  Edmund  Ran 
dolph,  the  governor  then  in  office,  having  attended  the 
great  convention  at  Philadelphia,  and  having  there  re 
fused  to  sign  the  constitution,  had  published  an  impres 
sive  statement  of  his  objections  to  it,  and,  for  several 
months  thereafter,  had  been  counted  among  its  most 


BATTLE   O^ER  THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION.    285 

formidable  oppont  ts.  Concerning  the  attitude  of  the 
legal  profession,  —  i.  profession  always  inclined  to  con 
servatism,  —  Madison  -rd  written  to  Jefferson,  "  The 
gene-mi  and  admiralty  coui'ts,  with  most  of  the  bar,  op 
pose  the  constitution." l  Finally,  among  Virginians 
who  were  at  that  time  particularly  honored  and  trusted 
for  patriotic  services  during  the  revolution,  such  men 
as  these,  Theodoric  Bland,  William  Grayson,  John 
Tyler,  Meriwether  Smith,  James  Monroe,  George  Ma 
son,  and  Richard  Henry  Lee,  had  declared  their  disap 
proval  of  the  document. 

Nevertheless,  within  the  convention  itself,  at  the 
opening  of  the  session,  it  was  claimed  by  the  friends  of 
the  new  government,  that  they  then  outnumbered  their 
opponents  by  at  least  fifty  votes.2  Their  great  cham 
pion  in  debate  was  James  Madison,  who  was  powerfully 
assisted,  first  or  last,  by  Edmund  Pendleton,  John  Mar 
shall,  George  Nicholas,  Francis  Corbiu,  George  Wythe, 
James  Innes,  General  Henry  Lee,  and  especially  by 
that  same  Governor  Randolph  who,  after  denouncing 
the  constitution  for  "  features  so  odious  "  that  he  could 
not  "  agree  to  it,"  8  had  finally  swung  completely  around 
to  its  support. 

Against  all  this  array  of  genius,  learning,  character, 
logical  acumen,  and  eloquence,  Patrick  Henry  held  the 
field  as  protagonist  for  twenty-three  days,  —  his  chief 
lieutenants  in  the  fight  being  Mason,  Grayson,  and 
John  Dawson,  with  occasional  help  from  Harrison,  Mon 
roe,  and  Tyler.  Upon  him,  alone,  fell  the  brunt  of  the 
battle.  Out  of  the  twenty-three  days  of  that  splendid 

1  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  ii.  541. 

2  Hist.  May.  for  1873,  274. 

&  Elliot,  Dtbates,  i.  4(J1;  v.  5C2,  534-535. 


286  PATRICK  HENRY. 

tourney,  there  were  but  five  days  :  .'which  he  did  not 
take  the  floor.  On  each  of  sever_i  days,  he  made  three 
speeches  ;  on  one  day,  he  nr._*e  five  speeches  ;  on  an 
other  day,  eight.  In  one  speech  alone,  he  was  on  his 
legs  for  seven  hours.  The  words  of  all  who  had  any 
share  in  that  debate  were  taken  down,  according  to  the 
imperfect  art  of  the  time,  by  the  stenographer,  David 
Robertson,  whose  reports,  however,  are  said  to  be  little 
more  than  a  pretty  lull  outline  of  the  speeches  actually 
made :  but  in  the  volume  which  contains  these  abstracts, 
one  of  Patrick  Henry's  speeches  fills  eight  pages,  an 
other  ten  pages,  another  sixteen,  another  twenty-one, 
another  forty ;  while,  in  the  aggregate,  his  speeches 
constitute  nearly  one  quarter  of  the  entire  book,  —  a 
book  of  six  hundred  and  sixty-three  pages.1 

Any  one  who  has  fallen  under  the  impression,  so  in 
dustriously  propagated  by  the  ingenious  enmity  of  Jef 
ferson's  old  age,  that  Patrick  Henry  was  a  man  of 
but  meagre  information  and  of  extremely  slender  in 
tellectual  resources,  ignorant  especially  of  law,  of  polit 
ical  science,  and  of  history,  totally  lacking  in  logical 
power  and  in  precision  of  statement,  with  nothing  to 
offset  these  deficiencies  excepting  a  strange  gift  of  over 
powering,  ditliyrambic  eloquence,  will  find  it  hard,  as 
he  turns  over  the  leaves  on  which  are  recorded  the  de 
bates  of  the  Virginia  convention,  to  understand  just 
how  such  a  person  could  have  made  the  speeches  which 
are  there  attributed  to  Patrick  Henry,  or  how  a  mere 
rhapsodist  could  have  thus  held  his  ground,  in  close 
hand-to-hand  combat,  for  twenty -three  days,  against 
such  antagonists,  on  all  the  difficult  subjects  of  law, 
political  science,  and*  history.,  involved  in  the  constitu* 

1  Elliot,  Dtbates,  iii.. 


BATTLE   OVER    THE  NEW    CONSTITUTION.     287 

tion  of  the  United  States,  —  while  showing,  at  the  same 
time,  every  quality  of  good  generalship  as  a  tactitian 
and  as  a  party-leader.  "  There  has  been,  I  am  aware," 
says  an  eminent  historian  of  the  constitution,  "  a  mod 
ern  scepticism  concerning  Patrick  Henry's  abilities  ; 
but  I  cannot  share  it.  ...  The  manner  in  which  he 
carried  on  the  opposition  to  the  constitution  in  the  con 
vention  of  Virginia,  for  nearly  a  whole  month,  shows 
that  he  possessed  other  powers  besides  those  of  great 
natural  eloquence."  ] 

But,  now,  what  were  Patrick  Henry's  objections  to_ 
the  new  constitution  ? 

First  of  all,  let  it  be  noted  that  his  objections  did  not 
spring  from  any  hostility  to  the  union  of  the  thirteen 
states,  or  from  any  preference  for  a  separate  union  of 
the  southern  states.  Undoubtedly,  there  had  been  a 
time,  especially  under  the  provocations  connected  with 
the  Mississippi  business,  when  he  and  many  other  south 
ern  statesmen  sincerely  thought  that  there  might  be  no 
security  for  their  interests  even  under  the  confederation, 
and  that  this  lack  of  security  would  be  even  more  glar 
ing  and  disastrous  under  the  new  constitution.  Such, 
for  example,  seems  to  have  been  the  opinion  of  Gov 
ernor  Benjamin  Harrison,  as  late  as  October  the  4th, 
1787,  on  which  date,  he  thus  wrote  to  Washington  :  "I 
cannot  divest  myself  of  an  opinion  that  ...  if  the  con 
stitution  is  carried  into  effect,  the  states  south  of  the 
Potomac  will  be  little  more  than  appendages  to  those 
to  the  northward  of  it."  2  It  is  very  probable  that  this 
sentence  accurately  reflects,  likewise,  Patrick  Henry's 
mood  of  though*,  at  that  time.  Nevertheless,  whatever 

1  Curtis,  Hist.  Cortsi.,  ii.  561,  note. 

2  Writings  of  Washington,  ix.  266,  note. 


288  PATRICK   HENRY. 

may  have  been  his  thought  under  the  sectional  suspi 
cions  and  alarms  of  the  preceding  months,  it  is  certain 
that,  at  the  date  of  the  Virginia  convention,  he  had 
come  to  see  that  the  thirteen  states  must,  by  all  means, 
try  to  keep  together.  "  I  am  persuaded,"  said  he,  in 
reply  to  Randolph,  '•  of  what  the  honorable  gentleman 
says,  *  that  separate  confederacies  will  ruin  us.'  "  "Sir," 
he  exclaimed  on  another  occasion,  "  the  dissolution  of 
the  union  is  most  abhorrent  to  my  mind.  The  first 
thing  I  have  at  heart  is  American  liberty  ;  the  second 
thing  is  American  union."  Again  he  protested :  "  I 
mean  not  to  breathe  the  spirit,  nor  utter  the  language, 
of  secession." ] 

In  the  second  place,  he  admitted  that  there  were 
great  defects  in  the  old  confederation,  and  that  those 
defects  ought  to  be  cured  by  proper  amendments, 
particularly  in  the  direction  of  greater  strength  to  the 
federal  government.  But  did  the  proposed  constitu 
tion  embody  such  amendments  ?  On  the  contrary,  that 
constitution,  instead  of  properly  amending  the  old  con 
federation,  simply  annihilated  it,  and  replaced  it  by 
something  radically  different,  and  radically  dangerous. 
**  The  federal  convention  ought  to  have  amended  the 
old  system  ;  for  this  purpose  they  were  solely  dele 
gated  ;  the  object  of  their  mission  extended  to  no  other 
consideration."  "  The  distinction  between  a  national 
government  and  a  confederacy  is  not  sufficiently  dis 
cerned.  Had  the  delegates  who  were  sent  to  Phila 
delphia  a  power  to  propose  a  consolidated  government, 
instead  of  a  confederacy  ?  "  "  Here  is  a  resolution  as 
radical  as  that  which  separated  us  from  Great  Britain. 
It  is  radical  in  this  transition  ;  our  rights  and  privileges 
1  Elliot,  Dtbattt,  iii.  161,  57,  63. 


BATTLE   OVER   THE  NEW   CONSTITUTION.     289 

are  endangered,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  states  will 
be  relinquished  :  and  cannot  we  plainly  see  that  this  is 
actually  the  case  ?  The  rights  of  conscience,  trial  by 
jury,  liberty  of  the  press,  all  your  immunities  and  fran 
chises,  all  pretensions  to  human  rights  and  privileges, 
are  rendered  insecure,  if  not  lost,  by  this  change,  so 
loudly  talked  of  by  some,  so  inconsiderately  by  others." 
"  A  number  of  characters,  of  the  greatest  eminence  in 
this  country,  object  to  this  government  for  its  consoli 
dating  tendency.  This  is  not  imaginary.  It  is  a  formi 
dable  reality.  If  consolidation  proves  to  be  as  mis 
chievous  to  this  country  as  it  has  been  to  other  coun 
tries,  what  will  the  poor  inhabitants  of  this  country  do  ? 
This  government  will  operate  like  an  ambuscade.  It 
will  destroy  the  state  governments,  and  swallow  the 
liberties  of  the  people,  without  giving  previous  notice. 
If  gentlemen  are  willing  to  run  the  hazard,  let  them 
run  it ;  but  I  shall  exculpate  myself  by  my  opposition 
and  monitory  warnings  within  these  walls."  1 

But,  in  the  third  place,  besides  transforming  the  old 
confederacy  into  a  centralized  and  densely  consolidated 
government,  and  clothing  that  government  with  enor 
mous  powers  over' states  and  over  individuals,  what  had 
this  new  constitution  provided  for  the  protection  of 
states  and  of  individuals?  Almost  nothing.  It  had 
created  a  new  and  a  tremendous  power  over  us :  it  had 
failed  to  cover  us  with  any  shield,  or  to  interpose  any 
barrier,  by  which,  in  case  of  need,  we  might  save  our 
selves  from  the  wanton  and  fatal  exercise  of  that  power. 
In  short,  the  new  constitution  had  no  bill  of  rights. 
But  ''  a  bill  of  rights,"  he  declared,  is  "indispensably 
necessary."  "  A  general  positive  provision  should  be 
l  Elliot,  Debates,  iii  23,  02,  44,  IDG. 


290  PATRICK   HENRY. 

inserted  in  the  new  system,  securing  to  the  states  and 
the  people  every  right  which  was  not  conceded  ta  the 
general  government."  "  I  trust  that  gentlemen,  on  this 
occasion,  will  see  the  great  objects  of  religion,  liberty  of 
the  press,  trial  by  jury,  interdiction  of  cruel  punishments, 
and  every  other  sacred  right,  secured,  before  they  agree 
to  that  paper."  "  Mr.  Chairman,  the  necessity  of  a  bill 
of  rights  appears  to  me  to  be  greater  in  this  government 
than  ever  it  was  in  any  government  before.  I  have 
observed  already  that  the  sense  of  European  nations, 
and  particularly  Great  Britain,  is  against  the  construc 
tion  of  rights  being  retained  which  are  not  expressly  re 
linquished.  I  repeat,  that  all  nations  have  adopted  the 
construction,  that  all  rights  not  expressly  and  unequiv 
ocally  reserved  to  the  people,  are  impliedly  and  inci 
dentally  relinquished  to  rulers,  as  necessarily  inseparable 
from  delegated  powers.  .  .  .  Let  us  consider  the  senti 
ments  which  have  been  entertained  by  the  people  of 
America  on  this  subject.  At  the  revolution,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  it  was  their  sense  to  set  down  those  great 
rights  which  ought,  in  all  countries,  to  be  held  invio 
lable  and  sacred.  Virginia  did  so,  we  all  remember. 
She  made  a  compact  to  reserve,  expressly,  certain 
rights.  .  .  .  She  most  cautiously  and  guardedly  reserved 
and  secured  those  invaluable,  inestimable  rights  and 
privileges,  which  no  people,  inspired  with  the  least  glow 
of  patriotic  liberty,  ever  did,  or  'ever  can,  abandon.  She 
is  called  upon  now  to  abandon  them,  and  dissolve  that 
compact  which  secured  them  to  her.  .  .  .  Will  she  do 
it?  This  is  the  question.  If  you  intend  to  reserve 
your  unalienable  rights,  you  must  have  the  most  ex 
press  stipulation  ;  for,  if  implication  be  allowed,  you 
are  ousted  of  those  rights.  If  the  people  do  not  think 


BATTLE    OVER   THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION.     291 

it  necessary  to  reserve  them,  they  will  be  supposed  to 
be  given  up.  ...  If  you  give  up  these  powers,  with 
out  a  bill  of  rights,  you  will  exhibit  the  most  absurd 
thing  to  mankind  that  ever  the  world  saw,  —  a  govern 
ment  that  has  abandoned  all  its  powers  —  the  powers 
of  direct  taxation,  the  sword,  and  the  purse.  You  have 
disposed  of  them  to  congress,  without  a  bill  of  rights, 
without  check,  limitation,  or  control.  And  still  you 
have  checks  and  guards ;  still  you  keep  barriers  — 
pointed  where?  Pointed  against  your  weakened,  pros 
trated,  enervated,  state  government !  You  have  a  bill 
of  rights  to  defend  you  against  the  state  government  — 
which  is  bereaved  of  all  power,  and  yet  you  have  none 
against  congress  —  though  in  full  and  exclusive  posses 
sion  of  all  power.  You  arm  yourselves  against  the 
weak  and  defenceless,  and  expose  yourselves  naked  to 
the  armed  and  powerful.  Is  not  this  a  conduct  of  un 
exampled  absurdity  ?  " 

Again  and  again,  in  response  to  his  demand  for  an 
express  assertion,  in  the  instrument  itself,  of  the 
rights  of  individuals  and  of  states,  he  was  told  that 
every  one  of  those  rights  was  secured,  since  it  was  nat 
urally  and  fairly  implied.  "  Even  say,"  he  rejoined, 
"  it  is  a  natural  implication,  —  why  not  give  us  a 
right  ...  in  express  terms,  in  language  that  could  not 
admit  of  evasions  or  subterfuges  ?  If  they  can  use  im 
plication  for  us,  they  can  also  use  implication  against 
us.  We  are  giving  power ;  they  are  getting  power ; 
judge,  then,  on  which  side  the  implication  will  be  used." 
"  Implication  is  dangerous,  because  it  is  unbounded  ;  if 
it  be  admitted  at  all,  and  no  limits  prescribed,  it  admits 
of  the  utmost  extension."  "The  existence  of  powers 
1  Elliot,  Debates,  iii.  150,  462,  445-446. 


292  PATRICK  HENRY. 

is  sufficiently  established.  If  we  trust  our  dearest 
rights  to  implication,  we  shall  be  in  a  very  unhappy 
situation."  l 

Then,  in  addition  to  his  objections  to  the  general 
character  of  the  constitution,  namely,  as  a  consolidated 
government,  unrestrained  by  an  express  guarantee  of 
rights,  he  applied  his  criticisms  in  great  detail,  and 
with  merciless  rigor,  to  each  department  of  the  pro 
posed  government,  —  the  legislative,  the  executive,  and 
the  judicial ;  and  with  respect  to  each  one  of  these,  he 
insisted  that  its  intended  functions  were  such  as  to  in 
spire  distrust  arid  alarm.  Of  course,  we  cannot  here 

Tollow  this  fierce  critic  of  the  constitution  into  all  the 
detail  of  his  criticistns ;    but,  as  a  single  example,  we 
may  cite  a  portion  of  his  assault  upon  the  executive  de 
partment,  —  an    assault,   as    will   be    seen,    far   better 
suited    to   the   political  apprehensions  of  his  own   time 
than    of    ours :     "  'The    constitution     is    said     to    have 
t\     beautiful  features ;  but  when  I  come  to  examine  these 
t    features,    sir,    they    appear    to    me    horribly    frightful. 
\  Among  other  deformities,  it   has   an   awful  squinting ; 

*"  it  squints  towards  monarchy.  And  does  not  this  raise 
indignation  in  the  breast  of  every  true  American  ? 
Your  president  may  easily  become  king.  .  .  .  Where 
are  your  checks  in  this  government?  Your  strong 
holds  will  be  in  the  hands  of  your  enemies.  It  is  on 
a  supposition  that  your  American  governors  shall  be 
honest,  that  all  the  good  qualities  of  this  government 
are  founded  ;  but  its  defective  and  imperfect  construc 
tion  puts  it  in  their  power  to  perpetrate  the  worst  of 
mischiefs,  should  they  be  bad  men.  And,  sir,  would 
not  all  the  world,  from  the  eastern  to  the  western  hem- 
l  Elliot,  Debates,  Hi.  149-150. 


BATTLE   OVER  THE  NEW   CONSTITUTION.    293 

ispheres,  blame  our  distracted  folly  in  resting  our  rights 
upon  the  contingency  of  our  rulers  being  good  or  bad  ? 
Show  me  that  age  and  country  where  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  people  were  placed  on  the  sole  chance 
of  their  rulers  being  good  men,  without  a  consequent 
loss  of  liberty.  ...  If  your  American  chief  be  a  man 
of  ambition  and  abilities,  how  easy  is  it  for  him  to 
render  himself  absolute  !  The  army  is  in  his  hands  ; 
and  if  he  be  a  man  of  address,  it  will  be  attached  to 
him,  and  it  will  be  the  subject  of  long  meditation  with 
him  to  seize  the  first  auspicious  moment  to  accomplish 
his  design.  And,  sir,  will  the  American  spirit  solely 
relieve  you  when  this  happens.  I  would  rather  infi 
nitely —  and  I  am  sure  most  of  this  convention  are  of 
the  same  opinion  —  have  a  king,  lords,  and  commons, 
than  a  government  so  replete  with  such  insupportable 
evils.  If  we  make  a  king,  we  may  prescribe  the  rules 
by  which  he  shall  rule  his  people,  and  interpose  such 
checks  as  shall  prevent  him  from  infringing  them  ;  but 
the  president,  in  the  field,  at  the  head  of  his  army,  can 
prescribe  the  terms  on  which  he  shall  reign  master,  so 
far  that  it  will  puzzle  any  American  ever  to  get  his 
neck  from  under  the  galling  yoke.  .  .  .  Will  not  the 
recollection  of  his  crimes  teach  him  to  make  one  bold 
push  for  the  American  throne  ?  Will  not  the  immense 
difference  between  being  master  of  everything,  and 
being  ignominiously  tried  and  punished,  powerfully 
excite  him  to  make  this  bold  push?  But,  sir,  where  is 
the  existing  force  to  punish  him  ?  Can  he  not,  at  the 
head  of  his  army,  beat  down  every  opposition  ?  Away 
with  your  president !  we  shall  have  a  king.  The  army 
will  salute  him  monarch.  Your  militia  will  leave  you, 
and  assist  in  making  him  king,  and  fight  against  you. 


294  PATRICK  HENRY. 

And  what  have  you  to  oppose  this  force  ?  What  will 
then  become  of  you  and  your  rights?  Will  not  abso 
lute  despotism  ensue  ?  "  1 

*~  Without  reproducing  here,  in  further  detail,  Patrick 
Henry's  objections  to  the  new  constitution,  it  may  now 
be  stated  that  they  all  sprang  from  a  single  idea,  and 
all  revolved  about  that  idea,  namely,  that  the  new  plan 
of  government,  as  it  then  stood,  seriously  endangered 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people  of  the  several 
states.  And  in  holding  this  opinion,  he  was  not  at  all 
peculiar.  Very  many  of  the  ablest  and  noblest  states 
men  of  the  time  shared  it  with  him.  Not  to  name 
again  his  chief  associates  in  Virginia,  nor  to  cite  the 
language  of  such  men  as  Burke  and  Rawlins  Lowndes, 
of  South  Carolina ;  as  Timothy  Bloodworth,  of  North 
Carolina ;  as  Samuel  Chase  and  Luther  Martin,  of 
Maryland  ;  as  George  Clinton,  of  New  York;  as  Samuel 
Adams,  John  Hancock,  and  Elbridge  Gerry,  of  Massa 
chusetts  ;  as  Joshua  Atherton,  of  New  Hampshire,  it 
may  sufficiently  put  us  into  the  tone  of  contemporary 
opinion  upon  the  subject,  to  recall  certain  grave  words 
of  Jefferson,  who,  watching  the  whole  scene  from  the 
calm  distance  of  Paris,  thus  wrote  on  the  2d  of  Febru 
ary,  1788,  to  an  American  friend  :  "  I  own  it  astonishes 
me  to  find  such  a  change  wrought  in  the  opinions  of  our 
countrymen  since  I  left  them,  as  that  three  fourths  of 
tliem  should  be  contented  to  live  under  a  system  which 
leaves  to  their  governors  the  power  of  taking  from 
them  the  trial  by  jury  in  civil  cases,  freedom  of  re 
ligion,  freedom  of  the  press,  freedom  of  commerce,  the 
habeas  corpus  laws,  and  of  yoking  them  with  a  standing 
army.  That  is  a  degeneracy  in  the  principles  of  liberty, 
1  Elliot,  Debates,  iii.  58-60. 


BATTLE   OVER  THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION.     295 

to  which  I  had  given  four  centuries,  instead  of  four 
years."  l 

Holding  such  objections  to  the  proposed  constitution, 
what  were  Patrick  Henry  and  his  associates  in  the  Vir 
ginia  convention  to  do  ?  Were  they  to  reject  the  meas 
ure  outright  ?  Admitting  that  it  had  some  good  fea 
tures,  they  yet  thought  that  the  best  course  to  be  taken 
by  Virginia  would  be  to  remit  the  whole  subject  to  a 
new  convention  of  the  states,  —  a  convention  which, 
being  summoned  after  a  year  or  more  of  intense  and 
universal  discussion,  would  thus  represent  the  later,  the 
more  definite,  and  the  more  enlightened,  desires  of  the 
American  people.  But  despairing  of  this,  Patrick 
Henry  and  his  friends  concentrated  all  their  forces  upon 
this  single  and  clear  line  of  policy :  so  to  press  their  ob 
jections  to  the  constitution  as  to  induce  the  convention, 
not  to  reject  it,  but  to  postpone  its  adoption  until  they 
could  refer  to  the  other  states  in  the  American  con 
federacy  the  following  momentous  proposition,  namely, 
61  a  declaration  of  rights,  asserting,  and  securing  from 
encroachment,  the  great  principles  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  arid  the  undeniable  rights  of  the  people,  to 
gether  with  amendments  to  the  most  exceptionable  parts 
of  the  said  constitution  of  government." 2 

^Such,  then,  was  the  real  question  over  which  in  that 
assemblage,  from  the  first  day  to  J:he  last,  the  battle 
raged.  The  result  of  the  battle  was  reached  on  Wednes 
day,  the  25th  of  June;  and  that  result  was  a  victory 
for  immediate  adoption,  but  by  a  majority  of  only  ten 
votes,  instead  of  the  fifty  votes  that  were  claimed  for  it 
at  the  beginning  of  the  session.  Moreover,  even  that 

1  Bancroft,  Hist.  Const.,  ii.  459-460. 

2  Elliot,  Debates,   in.  653. 


296  PATRICK  HKNRY. 

small  majority  for  immediate  adoption  was  obtained 
only  by  the  help,  first,  of  a  preamble  solemnly  affirming 
it  to  be  the  understanding  of  Virginia  in  this  act  that 
it  retained  every  power  not  expressly  granted  to  the 
general  government ;  and,  secondly,  of  a  subsidiary  res 
olution  promising  to  recommend  to  congress  "  whatso 
ever  amendments  may  be  deemed  necessary.)' 

Just  before  the  decisive  question  was  put,  Patrick 
Henry,  knowing  that  the.result  would  be  against  him, 
and  knowing,  also,  from  the  angry  things  uttered  within 
that  house  and  outside  of  it,  that  much  solicitude  was 
abroad  respecting  the  course  likely  to  be  taken  by  the 
defeated  party,  then  and  there  spoke  these  noble  words : 
"I  beg  pardon  of  this  house  for  having  taken  up  more 
time  than  came  to  my  share,  and  I  thank  them  for 
the  patience  and  polite  attention  with  which  I  have  been 
heard.  If  I  shall  be  in  the  minority,  I  shall  have  those 
painful  sensations  which  arise  from  a  conviction  of 
being  overpowered  in  a  good  cause.  Yet  I  will  be  a 
peaceable  citizen.  My  head,  my  hand,  and  my  heart, 
shall  be  at  liberty  to  retrieve  the  loss  of  liberty,  and  re 
move  the  defects  of  that  system  in  a  constitutional  way. 
I  wish  not  to  go  to  violence,  but  will  wait,  with  hopes 
that  the  spirit  which  predominated  in  the  revolution  is 
not  yet  gone,  nor  the  cause  of  those  who  are  attached  to 
the  revolution  yet  lost.  u_shall  therefore  patiently  wait 
in  expectation  of  seeing  that  government  changed,  so  as 
to  be  compatible  with  the  safety,  liberty,  and  happiness 
of  the  people^'j1 

Those  words  of  the  great  Virginian  leader  proved  to 
be  a  message  of  reassurance  to  many  an  anxious  citizen, 
in  many  a  state,  —  not  least  so  to  that  great  citizen 
1  Elliot,  Debates,  iii.  652. 


BATTLE   OVER   THE  NEW   CONSTITUTION.     297 

tvho,  from  the  slopes  of  Mount  Vernon,  was  then  watch 
ing,  night  and  day,  for  signs  of  some  abatement  in  the 
ptorm  of  civil  discord.  Those  words,  too,  have,  in  our 
time,  won  for  the  orator  who  spoke  them  the  deliberate, 
and  the  almost  lyrical,  applause  of  the  greatest  historian 
who  has  yet  laid  hand  on  the  story  of  the  constitution  : 
•k  Henry  showed  his  genial  nature,  free  from  all  malig 
nity.  He  was  like  a  billow  of  the  ocean  on  the  first 
bright  day  after  the  storm,  dashing  itself  against  the 
rocky  cliff,  and  then,  sparkling  with  light,  retreating  to 
its  home."  l 

Long  after  the  practical  effects  of  the  Virginia  conven 
tion  of  1788  had  been  merged  in  the  general  political 
life  of  the  country,  that  convention  was  still  proudly  re 
membered  for  the  magnificent  exertions  of  intellectual 
power,  and  particularly  of  eloquence,  which  it  had  called 
forth.  So  lately  as  the  year  1857,  there  was  still  living 
a  man  who,  in  his  youth,  had  often  looked  in  upon  that 
famous  convention,  and  whose  enthusiasm,  in  recalling 
its  great  scenes,  was  not  to  be  chilled  even  by  the  frosts 
of  his  ninety  winters  :  "  The  impressions  made  by  the 
powerful  arguments  of  Madison  and  the  overwhelming 
eloquence  of  Henry  can  never  fade  from  my  mind.  I 
thought  them  almost  supernatural.  They  seemed  raised 
up  by  Providence,  each  in  his  way,  to  produce  great  re 
sults  :  the  one  by  his  grave,  dignified,  and  irresistible 
arguments  to  convince  and  enlighten  mankind;  the 
other,  by  his  brilliant  and  enrapturing  eloquence  to  lead 
whithersoever  he  would."  2 

Those  who  had  heard  Patrick  Henry  on  the  other 
great  occasions  of  his  career,  were  ready  to  say  that  his 

1  Bancroft,  Hist.  Const.,  ii   316-317. 

2  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  ii.  610. 


298  PATRICK  HENRY. 

eloquence  in  the  convention  of  1788  was,  upon  the 
whole,  fully  equal  to  anything  ever  exhibited  by  him  in 
any  other  place.  The  official  reports  of  his  speeches  in 
that  assemblage  were  always  declared  to  be  inferior  in 
"strength  and  beauty"  to  those  actually  made  by  him 
there.1  "  In  forming  an  estimate  of  his  eloquence,"  says 
one  gentleman,  who  there  heard  him,  "  no  reliance  can 
be  placed  on  the  printed  speeches.  No  reporter  what 
ever  could  take  down  what  he  actually  said ;  and  if  he 
could,  it  would  fall  far  short  of  the  original."2 

(in  his  arguments  against  the  constitution  Patrick 
Henry  confined  himself  to  no  systematic  order.  The 
convention  had  indeed  resolved  that  the  document 
should  be  discussed,  clause  by  clause,  in  a  regular 
manner;  but  in  spite  of  this,  and  in  spite  of  the  com 
plaints  and  reproaches  of  his  antagonists,  he  continually 
broke  over  all  barriers,  and  delivered  his  "  multiform 
and  protean  attacks  "  in  such  order  as  suited  the  work 
ings  of  his  own  rnuuD 

In  the  course  of  that  long  and  eager  controversy,  he 
had  several  passages  of  sharp  personal  collision  with  his 
opponents,  particularly  with  Governor  Randolph,  whose 
vacillating  course  respecting  the  constitution  had  left 
him  exposed  to  the  most  galling  comments,  and  who, 
on  one  occasion,  in  his  anguish,  turned  upon  Patrick 
Henry  with  the  exclamation :  "  I  find  myself  attacked 
in  the  most  illiberal  manner  by  the  honorable  gentle 
man.  I  disdain  his  aspersions  and  his  insinuations. 
His  asperity  is  warranted  by  no  principle  of  parlia 
mentary  decency,  nor  compatible  with  the  least  shadow 
of  friendship;  and  if  our  friendship  must  fall,  let  it  fall, 

1  Kennedy,  Life  of  Wirt,  i.  345. 

2  Spencer  Roanu,  MS. 


BATTLE  OVER   THE  NEW   CONSTITUTION.     299 

like  Lucifer,  never  to  rise  again."  A  Like  all  very  elo 
quent  men,  he  was  taunted,  of  course,  for  having  more 
eloquence  than  logic ;  for  "  his  declamatory  talents " ; 
for  his  "vague  discourses  and  mere  sports  of  fancy"; 
for  discarding  "  solid  argument "  ;  and  for  "  throwing 
those  bolts "  which  he  had  "  so  peculiar  a  dexterity 
at  discharging."  2  On  one  occasion,  old  General  Adam 
Stephen  tried  to  burlesque  the  orator's  manner  of 
speech : 3  on,  another  occasion,  that  same  petulant  war 
rior  bluntly  told  Patrick  that  if  he  did  "  not  like  this 
government,"  he  might  "go  and  live  among  the  In 
dians,"  and  even  offered  to  facilitate  the  orator's  self- 
expatriation  among  the  savages :  "  I  know  of  several 
nations  that  live  very  happily ;  and  I  can  furnish  him  .  , 
with  a  vocabulary  of  their  language."4  <i  f  M' 

L|£iiowing,  as  he  did,  every  passion  and  prejudice  of 
his  audience,  he  adopted,  it  appears,  almost  every  con 
ceivable  method  of  appeal)  "  The  variety  of  argu 
ments,"  writes  one  witness,  "  which  Mr.  Henry  gener 
ally  presented  in  his  speeches,  addressed  to  the  capaci 
ties,  prejudices,  and  individual  interests  of  his  hearers, 
made  his  speeches  very  unequal.  He  rarely  made  in 
that  convention  a  speech,  which  Quintilian  would  have 
approved.  If  he  soared,  at  times,  like  the  eagle,  and 
seemed  like  the  bird  of  Jove  to  be  armed  with  thunder, 
he  did  not  disdain  to  stoop  like  the  hawk  to  seize  his 
prey,  — but  the  instant  that  he  had  done  it,  rose  in  pur 
suit  of  another  quarry."  6 

Perhaps    the    most  wonderful    example   of   his    elo 
quence,  if  we  may  judge  by  contemporary  descriptions, 

l  Elliot,  Debates,  iii.  187.  2  Ibid.  Sii.  406,  104,  248,  177. 

3  St.  George  Tucker,  MS.  *  Elliot,  Debates,  iii.  580. 

5  St.  George  Tucker,  MS. 


300  PATRICK  HENRY. 

was  that  connected  with  the  famous  scene  of  the 
thunder-storm,  on  Tuesday,  the  24th  of  June,  only  one 
day  before  the  decisive  vote  was  taken.  The  orator, 
it  seems,  had  gathered  up  all  his  forces  for  what  might 
prove  to  be  his  last  appeal  against  immediate  adoption, 
and  was  portraying  the  disasters  which  the  new  system 
of  government,  unless  amended,  was  to  bring  upon  his 
countrymen,  and  upon  all  mankind:  "I  see  the  awful 
immensity  of  the  dangers  with  which  it  is  pregnant.  I 
see  it.  I  feel  it.  I  see  beings  of  a  higher  order  anx 
ious  concerning  our  decision.  When  I  see  beyond  the 
horizon  that  bounds  human  eyes,  and  look  at  the  final 
consummation  of  all  human  things,  and  see  those  in 
telligent  beings  which  inhabit  the  ethereal  mansions 
reviewing  the  political  decisions  and  revolutions  which, 
in  the  progress  of  time,  will  happen  in  America,  and 
the  consequent  happiness  or  misery  of  mankind,  I  am 
led  to  believe  that  much  of  the  account,  on  one  side  or 
the  other,  will  depend  on  what  we  now  decide.  Our 
own  happiness  alone  is  not  affected  by  the  event.  All 
nations  are  interested  in  the  determination.  We  have 
it  in  our  power  to  secure  the  happiness  of  one  half  ot 
the  human  race.  Its  adoption  may  involve  the  misery 
of  the  other  hemisphere."  Thus  far  the  stenographer 
had  proceeded,  when  he  suddenly  stopped,  and  placed 
within  brackets  the  following  note:  —  "[Here  a  violent 
storm  arose,  which  put  the  house  in  such  disorder,  that 
Mr.  Henry  was  obliged  to  conclude.]  "  1  But  the  scene 
which  is  thus  quietly  despatched  by  the  official  reporter 
of  the  convention  was  again  and  again  described,  by 
many  who  were  witnesses  of  it,  as  something  most  sub 
lime  and  even  appalling.  After  having  delineated  with 
i  Elliot,  Debates,  iii.  625. 


BATTLE   OVER   THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION.     301 

overpowering  vividness  the  calamities  which  were  likely 
to  befall  mankind  from  their  adoption  of  the  proposed 
frame  of  government,  the  orator,  it  is  said,  as  if  wield 
ing  an  enchanter's  wand,  suddenly  enlarged  the  arena 
of  the  debate  and  the  number  of  his  auditors ;  for,  peer 
ing  beyond  the  veil  which  shuts  in  mortal  sight,  and 
pointing  "  to  those  celestial  beings  who  were  hovering 
over  the  scene,"  he  addressed  to  them  "  an  invocation 
that  made  every  nerve  shudder  with  supernatural  hor 
ror,  when,  lo  !  a  storm  at  that  instant  rose,  which  shook 
the  whole  building,  and  the  spirits  whom  he  had  called 
seemed  to  have  come  at  his  bidding.  Nor  did  his  elo 
quence,  or  the  storm,  immediately  cease ;  but  availing 
himself  of  the  incident,  with  a  master's  art,  he  seemed 
to  mix  in  the  fight  of  his  ethereal  auxiliaries  and  *  rising 
on  the  wings  of  the  tempest,  to  seize  upon  the  artillery 
of  heaven,  and  direct  its  fiercest  thunders  against  the 
heads  of  his  adversaries.'  The  scene  became  insup 
portable  ;  and  the  house  rose  without  the  formality  of 
adjournment,  the  members  rushing  from  their  seats 
with  precipitation  and  confusion."  * 

i  Wirt,  296-297.    Also  Spencer  Roane,  MS. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

THE    AFTER-FIGHT    FOR    AMENDMENTS. 

THUS,  on  the  question  of  adopting  the  new  constitu 
tion,  the  fight  was  over ;  but  on  the  question  of  amend 
ing  that  constitution,  now  that  it  had  been  adopted,  the 
fight,  of  course,  was  only  just  begun. 

For  how  could  this  new  constitution  be  amended? 
A  way  was  provided,  —  but  an  extremely  strait  and 
narrow  way.  No  amendment  whatsoever  could  become 
valid  until  it  had  been  accepted  by  three  fourths  of  the 
states  ;  and  no  amendment,  could  be  submitted  to  the 
states  for  their  consideration,  until  it  had  first  been  ap 
proved,  either  by  two  thirds  of  both  houses  of  congress, 
or  else  by  a  majority  of  a  convention  specially  called  by 
congress  at  the  request  of  two  thirds  of  the  states. 

Clearly,  the  framers  of  the  constitution  intended  that 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  when  once  agreed  to, 
should  have  within  it  a  principle  of  fixedness  almost 
invincible.  At  any  rate,  the  process  by  which  alone 
alterations  can  be  made,  involves  so  wide  an  area  of  ter 
ritory,  so  many  distinct  groups  of  population,  and  is, 
withal,  in  itself,  so  manifold  and  complex,  so  slow,  and 
so  liable  to  entire  stoppage,  that  any  proposition  look 
ing  toward  change  must  inevitably  perish  long  before 
reaching  the  far-away  goal  of  final  endorsement,  unless 
that  proposition  be  really  impelled  by  a  public  demand, 
not  only  very  energetic  and  persistent,  but  well-nigh  uui- 


THE  AFTER-FIGHT  FOR  AMENDMENTS.      303 

versal.  Indeed  the  constitutional  provision  for  amend 
ments  seemed,  at  that  time,  to  many,  to  be  almost  a 
constitutional  prohibition  of  amendments. 

It  was,  in  part,  for  this  very  reason  that  Patrick 
Henry  had  urged  that  those  amendments  of  the  con 
stitution  which,  in  his  opinion,  were  absolutely  neces 
sary,  should  be  secured  before  its  adoption,  and  not  be 
left  to  the  doubtful  chance  of  their  being  obtained  after 
ward,  as  the  result  of  a  process  ingeniously  contrived, 
as  it  were,  to  prevent  their  being  obtained  at  all.  But 
at  the  close  of  that  June  day  on  which  he  and  his 
seventy-eight  associates  walked  away  from  the  conven 
tion  wherein,  on  this  very  proposition,  they  had  just  been 
voted  down,  how  did  the  case  stand  ?  The  constitu 
tion,  now  become  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  was  a 
constitution  which,  unless  amended,  would,  as  they  sin 
cerely  believed,  effect  the  political  ruin  of  the  American 
people.  As  good  citizens,  as  good  men,  what  was  left 
for  them  to  do  ?  They  had  fought  hard  to  get  the  con 
stitution  amended  before  adoption.  They  had  failed. 
They  must  now  fight  hard  to  get  it  amended  after 
adoption.  Disastrous  would  it  be,  to  assume  that  the 
needed  amendments  would  now  be  carried  at  any  rate. 
True,  the  Virginia  convention,  like  the  conventions  of 
several  other  states,  had  voted  to  recommend  amend 
ments.  But  the  hostility  to  amendments,  as  Patrick 
Henry  believed,  was  too  deeply  rooted  to  yield  to  mere 
recommendations.  The  necessary  amendments  would 
not  find  their  way  through  all  the  hoppers  and  tubes 
and  valves  of  the  enormous  mill  erected  within  the  con 
stitution,  unless  forced  onward  by  popular  agitation,  — 
and  by  popular  agitation  wide-spread,  determined,  vehe 
ment,  even  alarming.  The  powerful  enemies  of  amend* 


304  PATRICK  HKNRT. 

ments  must  be  convinced  that,  until  amendments  were 
carried  through  that  mill,  there  would  be  no  true  peace 
or  content  among  the  surrounding  inhabitants. 

This  gives  us  the  clew  to  the  policy  steadily  and 
firmly  pursued  by  Patrick  Henry  as  a  party  leader,  from 
June,  1788,  until  after  the  ratification  of  the  first  ten 
amendments,  on  the  15th  of  December,  1791.  It  was 
simply  a  strategic  policy  dictated  by  his  honest  view  of 
the  situation  ;  a  bold,  manly,  patriotic  policy  ;  a  policy, 
however,  which  was  greatly  misunderstood,  and  grossly 
misrepresented,  at  the  time  ;  a  policy,  too,  which  grieved 
the  heart  of  Washington,  and  for  several  years  raised 
between  him  and  his  ancient  friend,  the  one  cloud  of 
distrust  that  ever  cast  a  shadow  upon  their  intercourse. 

In  fact,  at  the  very  opening  of  the  Virginia  conven 
tion,  and  in  view  of  the  possible  defeat  of  his  demand 
for  amendments,  Patrick  Henry  had  formed  a  clear 
outline  of  this  policy,  even  to  the  extent  of  organiz 
ing  throughout  the  state  local  societies  for  stirring  up, 
and  for  keeping  up,  the  needed  agitation.  All  this  is 
made  evident  by  an  important  letter  written  by  him 
to  General  John  Lamb,  of  New  York,  and  dated  at 
Richmond,  June  9,  1788,  —  when  the  convention  had 
been  in  session  just  one  week.  In  this  letter,  after 
some  preliminary  words,  he  says : 

"  It  is  matter  of  great  consolation  to  find  that  the 
sentiments  of  a  vast  majority  of  Virginians  are  in  uni 
son  with  those  of  our  northern  friends.  I  am  satisfied 
four  fifths  of  our  inhabitants  are  opposed  to  the  new 
scheme  of  government.  Indeed,  in  the  part  of  this 
country  lying  south  of  James  River,  I  am  confident, 
nine  tenths  are  opposed  to  it.  And  yet,  strange  as  it 


THE  AFTER-FIGHT  FOR  AMENDMENTS.       305 

may  seem,  the  numbers  in  convention  appear  equal  on 
both  sides :  so  that  the  majority,  which  way  soever  it 
goes,  will  be  small.  The  friends  and  seekers  of  power 
have,  with  their  usual  subtilty,  wriggled  themselves  into 
the  choice  of  the  people,  by  assuming  shapes  as  various 
as  the  faces  of  the  men  they  address  on  such  occasions. 

"  If  they  shall  carry  their  point,  and  preclude  pre 
vious  amendments,  which  we  have  ready  to  offer,  it  will 
become  highly  necessary  to  form  the  society  you  men 
tion.  Indeed,  it  appears  the  only  chance  for  securing  a 
remnant  of  those  invaluable  rights  which  are  yielded  by 
the  new  plan.  Colonel  George  Mason  has  agreed  to 
act  as  chairman  of  our  republican  society.  His  char 
acter  I  need  not  describe.  He  is  every  way  fit ;  and 
we  have  concluded  to  send  you  by  Colonel  Oswald  a 
copy  of  the  bill  of  rights,  and  of  the  particular  amend 
ments  we  intend  to  propose  in  our  convention.  The 
fate  of  them  is  altogether  uncertain ;  but  of  that  you 
will  be  informed.  To  assimilate  our  views  on  this  great 
subject  is  of  the  last  moment;  and  our  opponents  ex 
pect  much  from  our  dissension.  As  we  see  the  danger, 
I  think  it  is  easily  avoided. 

"  I  can  assure  you  that  North  Carolina  is  more  de 
cidedly  opposed  to  the  new  government  than  Virginia. 
The  people  there  seem  rife  for  hazarding  all,  before 
they  submit.  Perhaps  the  organization  of  our  system 
may  be  so  contrived  as  to  include  lesser  associations 
dispersed  throughout  the  state.  This  will  remedy  in 
some  degree  the  inconvenience  arising  from  our  dis 
persed  situation.  Colonel  Oswald's  short  stay  here 
prevents  my  saying  as  much  on  the  subject  as  I  could 
otherwise  have  done.  And  after  assuring  you  of  my 
ardent  wishes  for  the  happiness  of  our  common  country, 


306  PATRICK  HENRY. 

and  the  best  interests  of  humanity,  I  beg  leave  to  sub 
scribe  myself,  with  great  respect  and  regard, 

"  Sir,  your  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  P.  HENRY."  1 

On  the  27th  of  June,  within  a  few  hours,  very 
likely,  after  the  final  adjournment  of  the  convention, 
Madison  hastened  to  report  to  Washington  the  great  and 
exhilarating  result,  but  with  this  anxious  and  really 
unjust  surmise  respecting  the  course  then  to  be  pursued 

by  Patrick  Henry  :  "  Mr.  H y  declared,  previous  to 

the  final  question,  that  although  he  should  submit  as 
a  quiet  citizen,  he  should  seize  the  first  moment  that 
offered  for  shaking  off  the  yoke  in  a  constitutional  way. 
I  suspect  the  plan  will  be  to  encourage  two  thirds  of 
the  legislatures  in  the  task  of  undoing  the  work ;  or  to 
get  a  congress  appointed  in  the  first  instance  that  will 
commit  suicide  on  their  own  authority."  2  At  the  same 
sitting,  probably,  Madison  sent  off  to  Hamilton,  at  New 
York,  another  report,  in  which  his  conjecture  as  to 
Patrick  Henry's  intended  policy  is  thus  stated :  "  I  am 
so  uncharitable  as  to  suspect  that  the  ill-will  to  the 
constitution  will  produce  every  peaceable  effort  to  dis 
grace  and  destroy  it.  Mr.  Henry  declared  .  .  .  that  he 
should  wait  with  impatience  for  the  favorable  moment 
of  regaining,  in  a  constitutional  way,  the  lost  liberties  of 
his  country."  8 

Two  days  afterward,  by  which  time,  doubtless,  Madi 
son's  letter  had  reached  Mount  Vernon,  Washington 
wrote  to  Benjamin  Lincoln,  of  Massachusetts,  respect 

1  Leake,  Life  of  Gen.  John  Lamb,  307-308. 

2  Madison,  Letters,  etc.,  i.  402. 
*  Works  of  Hamilton,  i.  463. 


THE  AFTER-FIGHT  FOR  AMENDMENTS.       307 

ing  the  result  of  the  convention  :  "  Our  accounts  from 
Richmond  are  that  .  .  .  the  final  decision  exhibited  a 
solemn  scene,  and  that  there  is  every  reason  to  expect 
a  perfect  acquiescence  therein  by  the  minority.  Mr. 
Henry,  the  great  leader  of  it,  has  signified  that,  though 
he  can  never  be  reconciled  to  the  constitution  in  its 
present  form,  and  shall  give  it  every  constitutional  op 
position  in  his  power,  yet  he  will  submit  to  it  peace° 
ably."  1 

Thus,  about  the  end  of  June,  1788,  there  came  down 
upon  the  fierce  political  strife  in  Virginia  a  lull,  which 
lasted  until  the  20th  of  October,  at  which  time  the  legis 
lature  assembled  for  its  autumnal  session.  Meantime, 
however,  the  convention  of  New  York  had  adopted  the 
constitution,  but  after  a  most  bitter  fight,  and  by  a  major 
ity  of  only  three  votes,  and  only  in  consequence  of  the 
pledge  that  every  possible  effort  should  be  made  to  ob 
tain  speedily  those  great  amendments  that  were  at  last 
called  for  by  a  determined  public  demand.  One  of  the 
efforts  contemplated  by  the  New  York  convention,  took 
the  form  of  a  circular  letter  to  the  governors  of  the 
several  states,  urging,  almost  pathetically,  that  "  effect 
ual  measures  be  immediately  taken  for  calling  a  conven 
tion  "  to  propose  those  amendments  which  are  necessary 
for  allaying  "the  apprehensions  and  discontents"  then 
so  prevalent.2 

This  circular  letter  "  rekindled,"  as  Madison  then 
wrote  to  Jefferson,  "  an  ardor  among  the  opponents  of 
the  federal  constitution,  for  an  immediate  revision  of 
it  by  another  general  convention.  .  .  .  Mr.  Henry  and 
his  friends  in  Virginia  enter  with  great  zeal  into  the 

1  Writings  of  Washington,  ix.  392. 

2  Elliot,  Debates,  ii.  414. 


308  PATRICK  HENRY. 

scheme."  1  In  a  letter  written  by  Washington,  nearly 
a  month  before  the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  it  is 
plainly  indicated  that  his  mind  was  then  grievously 
burdened  by  the  anxieties  of  the  situation,  and  that  he 
was  disposed  to  put  the  very  worst  construction  upon 
the  expected  conduct  of  Patrick  Henry  and  his  party  in 
the  approaching  session  :  "  Their  expedient  will  now 
probably  be  an  attempt  to  procure  the  election  of  so 
many  of  their  own  junto  under  the  new  government,  as,' 
by  the  introduction  of  local  and  embarrassing  disputes, 
to  impede  or  frustrate  its  operation.  ...  I  assure  you. 
I  am  under  painful  apprehensions  from  the  single  cir 
cumstance  of  Mr.  II.  having  the  whole  game  to  play 
in  the  assembly  of  this  state ;  and  the  effect  it  may  have 
in  others  should  be  counteracted,  if  possible."  2 

No  sooner  had  the  assembly  met,  than  Patrick  Henry's 
ascendancy  became  apparent.  His  sway  over  that  body 
was  such  that  it  was  described  as  'k  omnipotent."  And 
by  the  time  the  session  had  been  in  progress  not  quite  a 
month,  Washington  informed  Madison  that  "the  ac 
counts  from  Richmond"  were  "very  unpropitious  to 
federal  measures."  "  In  one  word,"  he  added,  "it  is  said 
that  the  edicts  of  Mr.  II.  are  enregistered  with  less  op 
position  in  the  Virginia  assembly  than  those  of  the 
grand  monarch  by  his  parliaments.  He  has  only  to  say, 
Let  this  be  law,  and  it  is  law."  8  Within  ten  days  from 
the  opening  of  the  session,  the  house  showed  its  sensitive 
response  to  Patrick  Henry's  leadership  by  adopting  a 
series  of  resolutions,  the  chief  purpose  of  which  was  to 
ask  congress  to  call  immediately  a  national  convention, 

1  Madison,  Letters,  etc.,  i.418. 

2  Writings  of  Washington,  ix.  433. 
»  Bancroft,  //wrf.  Const.,  ii.  483. 


THE  AFTER-FIGHT  FOR  AMENDMENTS.      309 

for  proposing  to  the  states  the  required  amendments. 
In  the  debate  on  the  subject,  he  is  said  to  have  declared 
"  that  he  should  oppose  every  measure  tending  to  the 
organization  of  the  government,  unless  accompanied 
with  measures  for  the  amendment  of  the  constitution."  l 

Some  phrases  in  one  of  his  resolutions  were  most 
offensive  to  those  members  of  the  house  who  had  a  be 
friended  the  new  constitution,"  and  who,  by  implication 
at  least,  were  held  forth  as  "  betrayers  of  the  dearest 
rights  of  the  people."  "  If  Mr.  Henry  pleases,"  so 
wrote  a  correspondent  of  Washington,  "  he  will  carry 
the  resolution  in  its  present  terms,  than  which  none,  in 
my  opinion,  can  be  more  exceptionable  or  inflammatory  ; 
though,  as  he  is  sometimes  kind  and  condescending,  he 
may  perhaps  be  induced  to  alter  it."  2 

In  accordance  with  these  resolutions,  a  formal  appli 
cation  to  congress  for  a  national  convention  was  pre 
pared  by  Patrick  Henry,  and  adopted  by  the  house  on 
the  14th  of  November.  Every  word  of  that  document 
deserves  now  to  be  read,  as  his  own  account  of  the  spirit 
and  purpose  of  a  measure  then  and  since  then  so  pro 
foundly  and  so  cruelly  misinterpreted :  — 

"  The  good  people  of  this  commonwealth,  in  conven 
tion  assembled,  having  ratified  the  constitution  sub 
mitted  to  their  consideration,  this  legislature  has,  in  con 
formity  to  that  act,  and  the  resolutions  of  the  United 
.States  in  congress  assembled  to  them  transmitted, 
thought  proper  to  make  the  arrangements  that  were 
necessary  for  carrying  it  into  effect.  Having  thus 
shown  themselves  obedient  to  the  voice  of  their  constit 
uents,  all  America  will  find  that,  so  far  as  it  depends  on 
them,  that  plan  of  government  will  be  carried  into  im 
mediate  operation. 

i  Con-.  Rev.,  iv.  240-241-  *  Ibid.  iv.  241. 


310  PATRICK  HENRY. 

"  But  the  sense  of  the  people  of  Virginia  would  be  but 
in  part  complied  with,  and  but  little  regarded,  if  we  went 
no  further.  In  the  very  moment  of  adoption,  and  coeval 
with  the  ratification  of  the  new  plan  of  government,  the 
general  voice  of  the  convention  of  this  state  pointed  to 
objects  no  less  interesting  to  the  people  we  represent, 
and  equally  entitled  to  your  attention.  At  the  same 
time  that,  from  motives  of  affection  for  our  sister  states, 
the  convention  yielded  their  assent  to  the  ratification, 
they  gave  the  most  unequivocal  proofs  that  they  dreaded 
its  operation  under  the  present  form. 

"  In  acceding  to  a  government  under  this  impression, 
painful  must  have  been  the  prospect,  had  they  not  de 
rived  consolation  from  a  full  expectation  of  its  imperfec 
tions  being  speedily  amended.  In  this  resource,  there 
fore,  they  placed  their  confidence,  —  a  confidence  that 
will  continue  to  support  them  whilst  they  have  reason 
to  believe  they  have  not  calculated  upon  it  in  vain. 

"  In  making  known  to  you  the  objections  of  the  peo 
ple  of  this  commonwealth  to  the  new  plan  of  govern 
ment,  we  deem  it  unnecessary  to  enter  into  a  particular 
detail  of  its  defects,  which  they  consider  as  involving 
all  the  great  and  unalienable  rights  of  freemen  :  for 
their  sense  on  this  subject,  we  refer  you  to  the  pro 
ceedings  of  their  late  convention,  and  the  sense  of  this 
general  assembly,  as  expressed  in  their  resolutions  of 
the  day  of 

"  We  think  proper,  however,  to  declare  that  in  our 
opinion,  as  those  objections  were  not  founded  in  specula 
tive  theory,  but  deduced  from  principles  which  have  been 
established  by  the  melancholy  example  of  other  nations, 
in  different  ages,  so  they  will  never  be  removed  until 
the  cause  itself  shall  cease  to  exist.  The  sooner,  there- 


THE  AFTER-FIGHT  FOR  AMENDMENTS.       311 

fore,  the  public  apprehensions  are  quieted,  and  the 
government  is  possessed  of  the  confidence  of  the  peo 
ple,  the  morq  salutary  will  be  its  operations,  and  the 
longer  its  duration. 

"The  cause  of  amendments  we  consider  as  a  com 
mon  cause  j  and  since  concessions  have  been  made  from 
political  motives,  which  we  conceive  may  endanger  the 
republic,  we  trust  that  a  commendable  zeal  will  be 
shown  for  obtaining  those  provisions  which,  experience 
has  taught  us,  are  necessary  to  secure  from  danger  the 
unalienable  rights  of  human  nature. 

"  The  anxiety  with  which  our  countrymen  press  for 
the  accomplishment  of  this  important  end,  will  ill  admit 
of  delay.  The  slow  forms  of  congressional  discussion 
and  recommendation,  if  indeed  they  should  ever  agree 
to  any  change,  would,  we  fear,  be  less  certain  of  success. 
Happily  for  their  wishes,  the  constitution  hath  pre 
sented  an  alternative,  by  admitting  the  submission  to  a 
convention  of  the  states.  To  this,  therefore,  we  resort, 
as  the  source  from  whence  they  are  to  derive  relief  from 
their  present  apprehensions.  We  do,  therefore,  in  be 
half  of  our  constituents,  in  the  most  earnest  and  solemn 
manner,  make  this  application  to  congress,  that  a  con 
vention  be  immediately  called,  of  deputies  from  the 
several  states,  with  full  power  to  take  into  their  consid 
eration  the  defects  of  this  constitution,  that  have  been 
suggested  by  the  state  conventions,  and  report  such 
amendments  thereto,  as  they  shall  find  best  suited  to 
promote  our  common  interests,  and  secure  to  ourselves 
and  our  latest  posterity,  the  great  and  unalienable  rights 
of  mankind."  1 

Such  was  the  purpose,  such  was  the  temper,  of  Vir- 
1  Jour.  Va.  House  Del.,  42-43. 


812  PATRICK  HENRY. 

ginia's  appeal,  addressed  to  congress,  and  written  by 
Patrick  Henry,  on  behalf  of  immediate  measures  for 
curing  the  supposed  defects  of  the  constitution.  Was 
it  not  likely  that  this  appeal  would  be  granted  ?  One 
grave  doubt  haunted  the  mind  of  Patrick  Henry.  If, 
in  the  elections  for  senators  and  representatives,  then 
about  to  occur  in  the  several  states,  very  great  care  was 
not  taken,  it  might  easily  happen  that  a  majority  of  the 
members  of  congress  would  be  composed  of  men  who 
would  obstruct,  and  perhaps  entirely  defeat,  the  desired 
amendments.  With  the  view  of  doing  his  part  towards 
the  prevention  of  such  a  result,  he  determined  that  both 
the  senators  from  Virginia,  and  as  many  as  possible  of 
its  representatives,  should  be  persons  who  could  be 
trusted  to  help,  and  not  to  hinder,  the  great  project. 

Accordingly,  when  the  day  came  for  the  election  of 
senators  by  the  assembly  of  Virginia,  he  just  stood  up 
in  his  place  and  named  "  Richard  Henry  Lee  and  Wil 
liam  Grayson,  Esquires,"  as  the  two  men  who  ought  to 
be  elected  as  senators ;  and,  furthermore,  he  named 
James  Madison,  as  the  one  man  who  ought  not  to  be 
elected  as  senator.  Whereupon,  the  vote  was  taken ; 
"and  after  some  time,"  as  the  journal  expresses  it,  the 
committee  to  examine  the  ballot-boxes,  "  returned  into 
the  house,  and  reported  that  they  had  .  .  .  found  a 
majority  of  votes  in  favor  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  and 
William  Grayson.  Esquires." l  On  the  8th  of  December, 
1788,  ]ust  one  month  afterward,  Madison  himself,  in  a 
letter  to  Jefferson,  thus  alluded  to  the  incident :  "  They 
made  me  a  candidate  for  the  senate,  for  which  I  had  no*; 
allotted  my  pretensions.  The  attempt  was  defeated  by 
Mr.  Henry,  who  is  omnipotent  in  the  present  legisla- 
a  Jour.  Va.  House  Dei.  32. 


THE   AFTER-FIGHT  FOR  AMENDMENTS.       313 

Cure,  and  who  added  to  the  expedients  common  on  such 
occasions  a  public  philippic  against  my  federal  prin 
ciples."  l 

Virginia's  delegation  in  the  senate  was  thus  made 
secure.  How  about  her  delegation  in  the  lower  house  ? 
That,  also,  was  an  affair  to  be  sharply  looked  to.  Above 
all  things,  James  Madison,  as  the  supposed  foe  of 
amendments,  was  to  be  prevented,  if  possible,  from 
winning  an  election.  Therefore,  the  committee  of  the 
house  of  delegates,  which  was  appointed  for  the  very 
purpose,  among  other  things,  of  dividing  the  state  into 
its  ten  congressional  districts,  so  carved  out  those  dis 
tricts  as  to  promote  the  election  of  the  friends  of  the 
good  cause,  and  especially  to  secure,  as  was  hoped,  the 
defeat  of  its  great  enemy.  Of  this  committee,  Patrick 
Henry  was  not  a  member;  but  as  a  majority  of  its 
members  were  known  to  be  his  devoted  followers,  very 
r/aturally,  upon  him,  at  the  time,  was  laid  the  burden  of 
the  blame  for  practising  this  ignoble  device  in  politics, 
—  a  device  which,  when  introduced  into  Massachusetts 
several  years  afterward,  also  by  a  revolutionary  father, 
came  to  be  christened  with  the  satiric  name  of  "  gerry 
mandering."  Surely,  it  was  a  rare  bit  of  luck,  in  the 
case  of  Patrick  Henry,  that  the  wits  of  Virginia  did  not 
anticipate  the  wits  of  Massachusetts  by  describing  this 
trick  as  "  henrymandering  "  ;  and  that  he  thus  narrowly 
escaped  the  ugly  immortality  of  having  his  name  handed 
down  from  age  to  age  in  the  coinage  of  a  base  word 
which  should  designate  a  base  thing  —  one  of  the  fa 
vorite,  shabby  manoeuvres  of  less  scrupulous  American 
politicians.2 

1  Madison,  Letters,  etc.,  i.  443-444. 

2  For  contemporary  allusions  to  this  first  example  of  gerrymander- 


314  PATRICK  HENRY. 

Thus,  however,  within  four  weeks  from  the  opening 
of  the   session,  he   had  succeeded  in  pressing  through 
the  legislature,  in  the  exact  form  he  wished,  all  these 
measures  for  giving  effect  to  Virginia's  demand  upon 
congress  for  amendments.     This  being  accomplished,  he 
withdrew  from  the   service   of  the  house  for   the   re 
mainder  of  the  session,  probably  on  account  of  the  great 
urgency  of  his  professional  engagements  at  that  time. 
The  journal  of  the  house   affords  us  no  trace  of  his 
presence  there  after  the  18th  of    November;    and  al 
though    the    legislature   continued  in  session  until  the 
13th  of  December,  its  business  did  not  digress  beyond 
local  topics.     To  all  these  facts,  rather  bitter  allusion 
is  made  in  a  letter  to  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire, 
written  from  Mount  Vernon,  on  the  31st  of  January, 
1789,  by  the  private  secretary  of  Washington,  Tobias 
Lear,  who  thus   reflected,  no  doubt,  the  mood  of  his 
chief:     "Mr.   Henry,  the  leader  of  the  opposition   in 
this  state,  finding  himself  beaten  off  the  ground  by  fair 
argument  in    the    state   convention,  and   outnumbered 
upon  the  important  question,  collected  his  whole  strength, 
and  pointed  his  whole  force  against  the  government,  in 
the  assembly.     He  here  met  with  but  a  feeble  opposi 
tion.  .  .  .   He  led  on  his  almost  unresisted  phalanx,  and 
planted  the  standard  of  hostility  upon  the  very  battle 
ments   of   federalism.     In    plain    English,    he  ruled  a 
majority  of  the  assembly  ;  and  his  edicts  were  registered 
by  that  body  with  less  opposition    than    those  of   the 
Grand  Monarque  have  met  with  from  his  parliaments. 
He  chose  the  two  senators.  ...  lie  divided  the  state 

ing,  see  Writings  of  Washington,  ix.  446-447  ;  Writings  of  Jeffer 
son,  ii.  574;  Rives,  Life  of  Madison,  ii.  653-655;  Bancroft,  Ilist 
Contt.,  ii.  485. 


THE  AFTER-FIGHT  FOR  AMENDMENTS.       315 

into  districts,  .  .  .  taking  care  to  arrange  matters  so  as 
to  have  the  county  of  which  Mr.  Madison  is  an  inhabi 
tant,  thrown  into  a  district  of  which  a  majority  were 
supposed  to  be  unfriendly  to  the  government,  and  by 
that  means  exclude  him  from  the  representative  body 
in  congress.  He  wrote  the  answer  to  Governor  Clin 
ton's  letter,  and  likewise  the  circular  letter  to  the  ex 
ecutives  of  the  several  states.  .  .  .  And  after  he  had 
settled  everything  relative  to  the  government  wholly, 
I  suppose,  to  his  satisfaction,  he  mounted  his  horse  and 
rode  home,  leaving  the  little  business  of  the  state  to  be 
done  by  anybody  who  chose  to  give  themselves  the 
trouble  of  attending  to  it."  1 

How  great  was  the  effect  of  these  strategic  measures, 
forced  by  Patrick  Henry  through  the  legislature  of 
Virginia  in  the  autumn  of  1788,  was  not  apparent,  of 
course,  until  after  the  organization  of  the  first  con 
gress  of  the  United  States,  in  the  spring  of  1789.  Not 
until  the  5th  of  May  could  time  be  found  by  that  body 
for  paying  the  least  attention  to  the  subject  of  amend 
ments.  On  that  day,  Theodoric  Bland,  from  Virginia, 
presented  to  the  house  of  representatives  the  solemn 
application  of  his  state,  for  a  new  convention  ;  and, 
after  some  discussion,  this  document  was  entered  on  the 
journals  of  the  house.2  The  subject  was  then  dropped 
until  the  8th  of  June,  when  Madison,  who  had  been 
elected  to  congress  in  spite  of  Patrick  Henry,  and  who 
had  good  reason  to  know  how  dangerous  it  would  be 
for  congress  to  trifle  with  the  popular  demand  for 
amendments,  succeeded,  against  much  opposition,  in 
getting  the  house  to  devote  that  day  to  a  preliminary 

1  Bancroft,  Hist.  Const.,  ii.  488-489. 

2  Gales,  Debates,  i.  258-261. 


316  PATRICK  HENRY. 

discussion  of  the  business.  It  was  again  laid  aside  for 
nearly  six  weeks,  and  again  got  a  slight  hearing  on  the 
21st  of  July.  On  the  l.'kli  of  August,  it  was  once  more 
brought  to  the  reluctant  attention  of  the  house,  and 
then  proved  the  occasion  of  a  debate  which  lasted  until 
the  24th  of  that  month,  when  the  house  finished  its 
work  on  the  subject,  and  sent  up  to  the  senate  seven 
teen  articles  of  amendment.  Only  twelve  of  these  ar 
ticles  succeeded  in  passing  the  senate  ;  and  of  these 
twelve,  only  ten  received  from  the  states  that  approval 
which  was  necessary  to  their  ratification.  This  was 
obtained  on  the  loth  of  December,  1791. 

The  course  thus  taken  by  congress,  in  itself  propos 
ing  amendments,  was  not  at  the  time  pleasing  to  the 
chiefs  of  that  party  which,  in  the  several  states,  had 
been  clamorous  for  amendments.1  These  men,  desiring 
more  radical  changes  in  the  constitution  than  could  be 
expected  from  congress,  had  set  their  hearts  on  a  new 
convention, —  which,  undoubtedly,  had  it  been  called, 
would  have  reconstructed,  from  top  to  bottom,  the 
work  done  by  the  convention  of  1787.  Yet  it  should 
be  noticed  that  the  ten  amendments,  thus  obtained  un 
der  the  initiative  of  congress,  embodied  "  nearly  every 
material  change  suggested  by  Virginia  ; " 2  and  that  it 
was  distinctly  due,  in  no  small  degree,  to  the  bitter 
and  implacable  urgency  of  the  popular  feeling  in  Vir 
ginia,  under  the  stimulus  of  Patrick  Henry's  leader 
ship,  that  congress  was  induced  by  Madison  to  pay  any 
attention  to  the  subject.  In  the  matter  of  amendments, 
therefore,  Patrick  Henry  and  his  party  did  not  get  all 
that  they  demanded,  nor  in  the  way  that  they  de- 

1  Marshall,  Life  of  Washington,  v.  209-210;  Story,  Const.,  i.  211. 
a  Howison,  Hist.  Fa.,  ii.  333. 


THE  AFTER-FIGHT  FOR  AMENDMENTS.      317 

manded  ;  but  even  so  much  as  they  did  get,  they  would 
not  then  have  got  at  all,  had  they  not  demanded  more, 
and  demanded  more,  also,  through  the  channel  of  a 
new  convention,  the  dread  of  which,  it  is  evident,  drove 
Madison  and  his  brethren  in  congress  into  the  prompt 
concession  of  amendments  which  they  themselves  did 
not  care  for.  Those  amendments  were  really  a  tub  tc 
the  whale  ;  but  then  that  tub  would  not  have  been 
thrown  overboard  at  all,  had  not  the  whale  been  there, 
and  very  angry,  and  altogether  too  troublesome  with 
his  foam-compelling  tail,  and  with  that  huge  head  of  his 
which  could  batter  as  well  as  spout. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

LAST    LABORS    AT    THE    BAR. 

THE  incidents  embraced  within  the  last  three  chap 
ters  cover  the  period  from  1786  to  1791,  and  have  been 
thus  narrated  by  themselves  for  the  purpose  of  exhibit 
ing  as  distinctly  as  possible,  and  in  unbroken  sequence, 
Patrick  Henry's  relations  to  each  succeeding  phase  of 
that  immense  national  movement  which  produced  the 
American  constitution,  with  its  first  ten  amendments. 

During  those  same  fervid  years,  however,  in  which 
he  was  devoting,  as  it  might  seem,  every  power  of  body 
and  mind  to  his  great  labors  as  a  party-leader,  and  as 
a  critic  and  moulder  of  the  new  constitution,  he  had 
resumed,  and  he  was  sturdily  carrying  forward,  most 
exacting  labors  in  the  practice  of  the  law. 

Late  in  the  year  1786,  as  will  be  remembered,  being 
then  poor  and  in  debt,  he  declined  another  election  to 
the  governorship,  and  set  himself  to  the  task  of  repair 
ing  his  private  fortunes,  so  sadly  fallen  to  decay  under 
the  noble  neglect  imposed  by  his  long  service  of  the 
public.  One  of  his  kinsmen  has  left  on  record  a  pleas 
ant  anecdote  to  the  effect  that  the  orator  happened  to 
mention  at  that  time  to  a  friend,  how  anxious  he  was 
under  the  great  burden  of  his  debts.  "  Go  back  to  the 
bar,"  said  his  friend  ;  "  your  tongue  will  soon  pay  your 
debts.  If  you  will  promise  to  go,  I  will  give  you  a  re- 


LAST  LABORS  AT  THE  BAR.  319 

taining  fee  on  the  spot."  1  This  course,  in  fact,  he  had 
already  determined  to  take ;  and  thus  at  the  age  of  fifty, 
at  no  time  robust  in  health,  and  at  that  time  grown 
prematurely  old  under  the  storm  and  stress  of  all  those 
unquiet  years,  he  again  buckled  on  his  professional 
armor,  rusty  from  long  disuse,  and  pluckily  began  his 
life  over  again,  in  the  hope  of  making  some  provision 
for  his  own  declining  days,  as  well  as  for  the  honor  and 
welfare  of  his  great  brood  of  children  and  grandchil 
dren.  To  this  task,  accordingly,  he  then  bent  himself, 
with  a  grim  wilfulness  that  would  not  yield  either  to 
bodily  weakness,  or  to  the  attractions  or  the  distractions 
of  politics.  It  is  delightful  to  be  permitted  to  add,  that 
his  energy  was  abundantly  rewarded  ;  and  that  in  ex 
actly  eight  years  thereafter,  namely  in  1794,  he  was 
able  to  retire,  in  comfort  and  wealth,  from  all  public 
and  professional  employments  of  every  sort. 

Of  course,  the  mere  announcement,  in  1786,  that 
Patrick  Henry  was  then  ready  once  more  to  receive 
clients,  was  enough  to  excite  the  attention  of  all  per 
sons  in  Virginia  who  might  have  important  interests  in 
litigation.  His  great  renown  throughout  the  country,  his 
high  personal  character,  his  overwhelming  gifts  in  argu 
ment,  his  incomparable  gifts  in  persuasion,  were  such 
as  to  ensure  an  almost  dominant  advantage  to  any  cause 
which  he  should  espouse  before  any  tribunal.  Confin 
ing  himself,  therefore,  to  his  function  as  ah  advocate, 
and  taking  only  such  cases  as  were  worth  his  attention, 
he  was  immediately  called  to  appear  in  the  courts  in  all 
parts  of  the  state. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  try  to  follow  this  veteran 
and  brilliant  advocate  in  his  triumphal  progress  from 
i  Winston,  in  Wirt,  2GO. 


320  PATRICK  HENRY. 

one  court-house  to  another,  or  to  give  the  detail  of  the 
innumerable  causes  in  which  he  was  engaged  during 
these  last  eight  years  of  his  practice  at  the  bar.  Of  all 
the  causes,  however,  in  which  he  ever  took  part  as  a 
lawyer,  in  any  period  of  his  career,  probably  the  most 
difficult  and  important,  in  a  legal  aspect,  was  the  one 
commonly  referred  to  as  that  of  the  British  debts, 
argued  by  him  in  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States, 
at  Richmond,  first,  in  1791,  and  again,  in  the  same 
place,  in  1793.1 

A  glance  at  the  origin  of  this  famous  cause  will  help 
us  the  better  to  understand  the  significance  of  his  rela 
tion  to  it.  By  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  in  1783, 
British  subjects  were  empowered  "  to  recover  debts, 
previously  contracted  to  them  by  our  citizens,  notwith 
standing  a  payment  of  the  debt  into  a  state  treasury 
had  been  made  during  the  war,  under  the  authority  of  a 
state  law  of  sequestration."  According  to  this  provision 
a  British  subject,  one  William  Jones,  brought  an  action 
of  debt,  in  the  federal  court  at'  Richmond,  against  a 
citizen  of  Virginia,  Thomas  Walker,  on  a  bond  dated 
May,  1772.  The  real  question  was  "  whether  payment 
of  a  debt  due  before  the  war  of  the  revolution,  from  a 
citizen  of  Virginia  to  British  subjects,  into  the  loan 
office  of  Virginia,  pursuant  to  a  law  of  that  state,  dis 
charged  the  debtor." 

The  case,  as  will  readily  be  seen,  involved  many 
subtle  and  difficult  points  of  law,  municipal,  national, 
and  international ;  and  the  defence  was  contained  in  the 
following  five  pleas  :  (1.)  That  of  payment,  generally; 
(2.)  That  of  the  Virginia  act  of  sequestration,  October 

1  "  Ware,  Administrator  of  Jones,  Plaintiff  in  Error,  r.  Hylton  tt 
a/.,''  Curtis,  Decisions,  i.  164-229. 


LAST  LABORS   AT  THE  BAR.  321 

20,  1777;  (3.)  That  of  the  Virginia  act  of  forfeiture, 
May  3,  1779  ;  (4.)  That  of  British  violations  of  the 
treaty  of  1783;  (5.)  That  of  the  necessary  annulment 
of  the  debt  in  consequence  of  the  dissolution  of  the  co- 
allegiance  of  the  two  parties,  on  the  declaration  of  inde 
pendence.1 

Some  idea  of  the  importance  attached  to  the  case, 
may  be  inferred  from  the  assertion  of  Wirt,  that  "the 
whole  power  of  the  bar  of  Virginia  was  embarked  "  in 
it;  and  that  the  "  learning,  argument,  and  eloquence" 
exhibited  in  the  discussion  were  such  "as  to  have  placed 
that  bar,  in  the  estimation  of  the  federal  judges,  .  .  . 
above  all  others  in  the  United  States." 2  Associated 
with  Patrick  Henry,  for  the  defendant,  were  John  Mar 
shall,  Alexander  Campbell,  and  James  Innes. 

For  several  weeks  before  the  trial  of  this  cause  in 
1791,  Patrick  Henry  secluded  himself  from  all  other  en 
gagements,  and  settled  down  to  intense  study  in  the  re 
tirement  of  his  home  in  the  country.  A  grandson  of 
the  orator,  Patrick  Henry  Fontaine,  who  was  there  as 
a  student  of  the  law,  relates  that  lie  himself  was  sent  off 
on  a  journey  of  sixty  miles  to  procure  a  copy  of  Vattel's 
Law  of  Nations.  From  this  and  other  works  of  inter 
national  law,  the  old  lawyer  "  made  many  quotations  ; 
and  with  the  whole  syllabus  of  notes  and  heads  of  argu 
ments,  he  filled  a  manuscript  volume  more  than  an  inch 
thick,  and  closely  written ;  a  book  .  .  .  bound  with 
leather,  and  convenient  for  carrying  in  his  pocket.  He 
had  in  his  yard  ...  an  office,  built  at  some  distance 
from  his  dwelling,  and  an  avenue  of  fine  black  locust? 
shaded  a  walk  in  front  of  it.  ...  He  usually  walked 
and  meditated,  when  the  weather  permitted,  in  this» 
i  Wirt,  316-318,  a  Ibid.  312, 


322  PATRICK  HENRY. 

shaded  avenue.  .  .  .  For  several  days  in  succession,  be 
fore  his  departure  to  Richmond  to  attend  the  court," 
the  orator  was  seen  "  walking  frequently  in  this  avenue, 
with  his  note-book  in  his  hand,  which  he  often  opened 
and  read ;  and  from  his  gestures,  while  promenading 
alone  in  the  shade  of  the  locusts,"  it  was  supposed  that 
he  was  committing  his  speech  to  memory.1  According 
to  another  account,  so  eager  was  his  application  to  this 
labor  that,  in  one  stage  of  it,  "  he  shut  himself  up  in  his 
olHce  for  three  days,  during  which  he  did  not  see  his 
family ;  his  food  was  handed  by  a  servant  through  the 
office-door."5  Of  all  this  preparation,  not  unworthy 
to  be  called  Demosthenic,  the  result  was,  if  we  may  ac 
cept  the  opinion  of  one  eminent  lawyer,  that  Patrick 
Henry  "came  forth,  on  this  occasion,  a  perfect  master 
of  every  principle  of  law,  national  and  municipal,  which 
touched  the  subject  of  investigation  in  the  most  distant 
point."3 

It  was  on  the  14th  of  November,  1701,  that  the  cause 
came  on  to  be  argued  in  the  court-house  at  Richmond, 
before  Judges  Johnson  and  Blair  of  the  supreme  court, 
and  Judge  Griffin  of  that  district.  The  case  of  the  plain 
tiff  was  opened  by  Mr.  Counsellor  Baker,  whose  argu 
ment  lasted  till  the  evening  of  that  day.  Patrick  Henry 
was  to  begin  his  argument  in  reply  the  next  morning. 
"  The  legislature  was  then  in  session ;  but  when  eleven 
o'clock,  the  hour  for  the  meeting  of  the  court,  arrived,  the 
speaker  found  himself  without  a  house  to  do  business. 
All  his  authority  and  that  of  his  sergeant  at  arms  were 
unavailing  to  keep  the  members  in  their  seats :  every 
consideration  of  public  duty  yielded  to  the  anxiety 

i  Edward  Fontaine,  MS.  2  Howe,  Hist.  Coll.  Vu.,  221. 

«  Wirt,  312. 


LAST  LABORS  AT  THE  BAR.  323 

which  they  felt,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  their  fellow- 
citizens,  to  hear  this  great  man  on  this  truly  great  and 
extensively  interesting  question.  Accordingly,  when 
the  court  was  ready  to  proceed  to  business,  the  court 
room  of  the  capitol,  large  as  it  is,  was  insufficient  to 
contain  the  vast  concourse  that  was  pressing  to  enter  it. 
The  portico,  and  the  area  in  which  the  statue  of  Wash 
ington  stands,  were  filled  with  a  disappointed  crowd, 
who  nevertheless  maintained  their  stand  without.  In 
the  court-room  itself,  the  judges,  through  condescension 
to  the  public  anxiety,  relaxed  the  rigor  of  respect  which 
they  were  in  the  habit  of  exacting,  and  permitted  the 
vacant  seats  of  the  bench,  and  even  the  windows  behind 
it,  to  be  occupied  by  the  impatient  multitude.  The 
noise  and  tumult  occasioned  by  seeking  a  more  favor 
able  station  was  at  length  hushed,  and  the  profound 
silence  which  reigned  within  the  room  gave  notice  to 
those  without  that  the  orator  had  risen,  or  was  on  the 
point  of  rising.  Every  eye  in  front  of  the  bar  was 
riveted  upon  him  with  the  most  eager  attention  ;  and  so 
still  and  deep  was  the  silence,  that  every  one  might  hear 
the  throbbing  of  his  own  heart.  Mr.  Henry,  however, 
appeared  wholly  unconscious  that  all  this  preparation 
was  on  his  account,  and  rose  with  as  much  simplicity 
and  composure  as  if  the  occasion  had  been  one  of  ordi 
nary  occurrence.  ...  It  may  give  the  reader  some  idea 
of  the  amplitude  of  the  argument,  when  he  is  told  that 
Mr.  Henry  was  engaged  three  days  successively  in  its 
delivery  ;  and  some  faint  conception  of  the  enchantment 
which  he  threw  over  it,  when  he  learns  that  although  it 
turned  entirely  on  questions  of  law,  yet  the  audience, 
mixed  as  it  was,  seemed  so  far  from  being  wearied,  that 
they  followed  him  throughout  with  increased  enjoyment. 


3J4  PATRICK  HENRY. 

The  room  continued  full  to  the  last ;  and  such  was  :  the 
listening  silence '  with  which  he  was  heard,  that  not  a 
syllable  that  he  uttered  is  believed  to  have  been  lost. 
When  he  finally  sat  down,  the  concourse  rose,  with  a 
general  murmur  of  admiration  ;  the  scene  resembled 
the  breaking  up  and  dispersion  of  a  great  theatrical  as 
sembly,  which  had  been  enjoying,  for  the  first  time, 
the  exhibition  of  some  new  and  splendid  drama;  the 
speaker  of  the  house  of  delegates  was  at  length  able  to 
command  a  quorum  for  business  ;  and  every  quarter  of 
the  city,  and  at  length  every  part  of  the  state,  was  filled 
with  the  echoes  of  Mr.  Henry's  eloquent  speech."  l 

In  the  spring  of  1793,  this  cause  was  argued  a  second 
time,  before  the  same  district  judge,  and,  in  addition, 
before  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Jay,  and  Mr.  Justice  Iredell 
of  the  supreme  court.  On  this  occasion,  apparently, 
there  was  the  same  eagerness  to  hear  Patrick  Henry 
as  before,  —  an  eagerness  which  was  shared  in  by  the 
two  visiting  judges,  as  is  indicated,  in  part,  by  a  let 
ter  from  Judge  Iredell,  who,  on  the  27th  of  May,  thus 
wrote  to  his  wife:  "We  began  on  the  great  British 
causes,  the  second  day  of  the  court,  and  are  now  in  the 
midst  of  them.  The  great  Patrick  Henry  is  to  speak 
to-day." 2  Among  the  throng  of  people  who  then 
poured  into  the  court-room,  was  John  Randolph,  of 
Roanoke,  then  a  stripling  of  twenty  years,  who,  having 
got  a  position  very  close  to  the  judges,  was  made  aware 
of  their  conversation  with  one  another  as  the  case  pro 
ceeded.  He  describes  ihe  orator  as  not  expecting  to 
speak  at  that  time  ;  "  as  old,  very  much  wrapped  up,  and 
resting  his  head  on  the  bar."  Meanwhile,  the  chief 

1  Wirt,  320-321  ;  368-369. 

2  McRee,  Life  of  Iredell,  ii.  394. 


LAST  LABORS  AT    THE  BAR.  325 

justice,  who,  in  earlier  days,  had  often  heard  Henry  in 
the  continental  congress,  told  Iredell  that  that  feeble  old 
gentleman  in  mufflers,  with  his  head  bowed  wearily  down 
upon  the  bar,  was  "  the  greatest  of  orators."  "  Iredell 
doubted  it;  and  becoming  impatient  to  hear  him,  they 
requested  him  to  proceed  with  his  argument,  before  he 
had  intended  to  speak.  .  .  .  As  he  arose,  he  began  to 
complain  that  it  was  a  hardship,  too  great,  to  put  the 
laboring  oar  into  the  hands  of  a  decrepit  old  man,  trem 
bling,  with  one  foot  in  the  grave,  weak  in  his  best  days, 
and  far  inferior  to  the  able  associate  by  him."  Ran 
dolph  then  gives  an  outline  of  his  progress  through  the 
earlier  and  somewhat  tentative  stages  of  his  speech, 
comparing  his  movement  to  the  exercise  "  of  a  first-rate, 
four -mile  race -horse,  sometimes  displaying  his  whole 
power  and  speed  for  a  few  leaps,  and  then  taking  up 
again."  "At  last,"  according  to  Randolph,  the  orator 
"  got  up  to  full  speed ;  and  took  a  rapid  view  of  what 
England  had  done,  when  she  had  been  successful  in 
arms ;  and  what  would  have  been  our  fate,  had  we  been 
unsuccessful.  The  color  began  to  come  and  go  in  the 
face  of  the  chief -justice  ;  while  Iredell  sat  with  his 
mouth  and  eyes  stretched  open,  in  perfect  wonder. 
Finally,  Henry  arrived  at  his  utmost  height  and  grand 
eur.  He  raised  his  hands  in  one  of  his  grand  and 
solemn  pauses.  .  .  .  There  was  a  tumultuous  burst  of 
applause  ;  and  Judge  Iredell  exclaimed,  —  '  Gracious 
God  !  he  is  an  orator  indeed  ! '  "  1  It  is  said,  also,  by 
another  witness,  that  Henry  happened  that  day  to  wear 
on  his  finger  a  diamond  ring  ;  and  that  in  the  midst  of 
the  supreme  splendor  of  his  eloquence,  a  distinguished 
English  visitor  who  had  been  given  a  seat  on  the  bench, 
1  Memorandum  of  J.  W.  Bouldin,  in  Hist.  Mag.  for  1873,  274-275, 


326  PATRICK  HENRY. 

said   with  significant  emphasis   to  one  of    the  judges, 
"  The  diamond  is  blazing  !  "  1 

As  examples  of  forensic  eloquence,  on  a  great  subject, 
before  a  great  and  a  fit  assemblage,  his  several  speeches 
in  the  case  of  the  British  debts,  were,  according  to  all 
the  testimony,  of  the  highest  order  of  merit.  What  they 
were  as  examples  of  legal  learning  and  of  legal  argumen 
tation,  may  be  left  for  every  lawyer  to  judge  for  himself, 
by  reading,  if  he  so  pleases,  the  copious  extracts  which 
have  been  preserved  from  the  stenographic  reports  of 
these  speeches,  as  taken  by  Robertson.  Even  from 
that  point  of  view,  they  appear  not  to  have  suffered  by 
comparison  with  the  efforts  made,  in  that  cause,  on  the 
same  side,  by  John  Marshall  himself.  No  inconsiderable 
portion  of  his  auditors  were  members  of  the  bar ;  and 
those  keen  and  competent  critics  are  said  to  have  ac 
knowledged  themselves  as  impressed  "  not  less  by  the 
matter  than  the  manner  "  of  his  speeches.2  Moreover, 
though  not  expressly  mentioned,  Patrick  Henry's  argu 
ment  is  pointedly  referred  to  in  the  high  compliment 
pronounced  by  Judge  Iredell,  when  giving  his  opinion 
in  this  case  :  "  The  cause  has  been  spoken  to,  at  the  bar, 
with  a  degree  of  ability  equal  to  any  occasion.  ...  I 
shall,  as  long  as  I  live,  remember  with  pleasure  and  re 
spect  the  arguments  which  I  have  heard  in  this  case. 
They  have  discovered  an  ingenuity,  a  depth  of  investiga 
tion,  and  a  power  of  reasoning  fully  equal  to  anything  1 
have  ever  witnessed ;  and  some  of  them  have  been 
adorned  with  a  splendor  of  eloquence  surpassing  what  I 
have  ever  felt  before.  Fatigue  has  given  way  under  its 

1  Howe,  Hist.  Coll.  Va.,  222. 

2  Judge  Spencer  Koane,  MS. 


LAST  LABORS  AT  THE  BAR.  327 

influence,  and  the  heart  has  been  warmed,  while  the  un 
derstanding  has  been  instructed."  1 

It  will  be  readily  understood,  however,  that  while 
Patrick  Henry's  practice  included  important  causes  turn 
ing,  like  the  one  just  described,  on  propositions  of  law, 
and  argued  by  him  before  the  highest  tribunals,  the  larger 
part  of  the  practice  to  be  had  in  Virginia  at  that  time 
must  have  been  in  actions  tried  before  juries,  in  which 
his  success  was  chiefly  due  to  his  amazing  endowments 
of  sympathy,  imagination,  tact,  and  eloquence.  The  tes 
timony  of  contemporary  witnesses  respecting  his  power 
in  this  direction  is  most  abundant,  and  also  most  inter 
esting  ;  and,  for  obvious  reasons,  such  portions  of  it  as 
are  now  to  be  reproduced,  should  be  given  in  the  very 
language  of  the  persons  who  thus  heard  him,  criticised 
him,  and  made  deliberate  report  concerning  him. 

First  of  all,  in  the  way  of  preliminary  analysis  of 
Henry's  genius  and  methods  as  an  advocate  before 
juries,  may  be  cited  a  few  sentences  of  Wirt,  who,  in 
deed,  never  heard  him,  but  who,  being  himself  a  very 
gifted  and  a  very  ambitious  advocate,  eagerly  collected 
and  keenly  scanned  the  accounts  of  many  who  had 
heard  him :  "  He  adapted  himself,  without  eifort,  to  the 
character  of  the  cause  ;  seized  with  the  quickness  of  in 
tuition  its  defensible  point,  and  never  permitted  the  jury 
to  lose  sight  of  it.  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  has  said  of 
Titian,  that,  by  a  few  strokes  of  his  pencil,  he  knew  how 
to  mark  the  image  and  character  of  whatever  object 
he  attempted ;  and  produced  by  this  means  a  truer 
representation  than  any  of  his  predecessors,  who  fin 
ished  every  hair.  In  like  manner  Mr.  Henry,  by  a 
few  master-strokes  upon  the  evidence,  could  in  general 
1  McRee,  Life  of  Iredell,  ii.  395. 


328  PATRICK  HENRY. 

stamp  upon  the  cause  whatever  image  or  character  he 
pleased ;  and  convert  it  into  tragedy  or  comedy,  at  his 
sovereign  will,  and  with  a  power  which  no  efforts  of 
his  adversary  could  counteract.  He  never  wearied  the 
jury  by  a  dry  and  minute  analysis  of  the  evidence ; 
he  did  not  expend  his  strength  in  finishing  the  hairs  ; 
he  produced  all  his  high  effect  by  those  rare  master- 
touches,  and  by  the  resistless  skill,  with  which,  in  a 
very  few  words,  he  could  mould  and  color  the  promi 
nent  facts  of  a  cause  to  his  purpose.  He  had  wonder 
ful  address,  too,  in  leading  off  the  minds  of  his  hearers 
from  the  contemplation  of  unfavorable  points,  if  at  any 
time  they  were  too  stubborn  to  yield  to  his  power  of 
transformation.  ...  It  required  a  mind  of  uncommon 
vigilance,  and  most  intractable  temper,  to  resist  this 
charm  with  which  he  decoyed  away  his  hearers ;  it  de 
manded  a  rapidity  of  penetration,  which  is  rarely,  if 
ever,  to  be  found  in  the  jury-box,  to  detect  the  intel 
lectual  juggle  by  which  he  spread  his  nets  around  them  ; 
it  called  for  a  stubbornness  and  obduracy  of  soul  which 
does  not  exist,  to  sit  unmoved  under  the  pictures  of 
horror  or  of  pity,  which  started  from  his  canvas.  They 
might  resolve,  if  they  pleased,  to  decide  the  cause 
against  him,  and  to  disregard  every  thing  which  he 
could  urge  in  the  defence  of  his  client.  But  it  was  all 
in  vain.  Some  feint  in  an  unexpected  direction  threw 
them  off  their  guard,  and  they  were  gone  :  some  happy 
phrase,  burning  from  the  soul ;  some  image  fresh  from 
nature's  mint,  and  bearing  her  own  beautiful  and  gen 
uine  impress,  struck  them  with  delightful  surprise,  and 
melted  them  into  conciliation  ;  and  conciliation  towards 
Mr.  Henry  was  victory  inevitable.  In  short,  he  under 
stood  the  human  character  so  perfectly ;  knew  so  well 


LAST  LABORS  AT   THE  BAR.  329 

all  its  strength  and  all  its  weaknesses,  together  with 
every  path  and  by-way  which  winds  around  the  citadel 
of  the  best  fortified  heart  and  mind,  that  he  never  failed 
to  take  them,  either  by  stratagem  or  storm."  l 

Still  further,  in  the  way  of  critical  analysis,  should  be 
cited  the  opinion  of  a  distinguished  student  and  master 
of  eloquence,  the  Reverend  Archibald  Alexander,  of 
Princeton,  who,  having  more  than  once  heard  Patrick 
Henry,  wrote  out,  with  a  scholar's  precision,  the  results 
of  his  own  keen  study  into  the  great  advocate's  success 
in  subduing  men,  and  especially  jurymen  :  u  The 
power  of  Henry's  eloquence  was  due,  first,  to  the  great 
ness  of  his  emotion  and  passion,  accompanied  with  a 
versatility  which  enabled  him  to  assume  at  once  any 
emotion  or  passion  which  was  suited  to  his  ends.  Not 
less  indispensable,  secondly,  was  a  matchless  perfection 
of  the  organs  of  expression,  including  the  entire  appa 
ratus  of  voice,  intonation,  pause,  gesture,  attitude,  and 
indescribable  play  of  countenance.  In  no  instance  did 
he  ever  indulge  in  an  expression  that  was  not  instantly 
recognized  as  nature  itself  ;  yet  some  of  his  penetrat 
ing  and  subduing  tones  were  absolutely  peculiar,  and 
as  inimitable  as  they  were  indescribable.  These  were 
felt  by  every  hearer,  in  all  their  force.  His  mightiest 
feelings  were  sometimes  indicated  and  communicated 
by  a  long  pause,  aided  by  an  eloquent  aspect,  and  some 
significant  use  of  his  finger.  The  sympathy  between 
mind  and  mind  is  inexplicable.  Where  the  channels  of 
communication  are  open,  the  faculty  of  revealing  inward 
passion  great,  and  the  expression  of  it  sudden  and  vis 
ible,  the  effects  are  extraordinary.  Let  these  shocks  of 
influence  be  repeated  again  and  again,  and  all  other 
l  Wirt,  75-76. 


330  PAIR1CK  HENRY. 

opinions  and  ideas  are  for  the  moment  absorbed  or  ex 
cluded  ;  the  whole  mind  is  brought  into  unison  with 
that  of  the  speaker  ;  and  the  spell-bound  listener,  till 
the  cause  ceases,  is  under  an  entire  fascination.  Then 
perhaps  the  charm  ceases,  upon  reflection,  and  the  infat 
uated  hearer  resumes  his  ordinary  state. 

"  Patrick  Henry,  of  course,  owed  much  to  his  singu 
lar  insight  into  the  feelings  of  the  common  mind.  In 
great  cases  he  scanned  his  jury,  and  formed  his  mental 
estimate  ;  on  this  basis  he  founded  his  appeals  to  their 
predilections  and  character.  It  is  what  other  advocates 
do,  in  a  lesser  degree.  When  he  knew  that  there  were 
conscientious  or  religious  men  among  the  jury,  he  would 
most  solemnly  address  himself  to  their  sense  of  right, 
and  would  adroitly  bring  in  scriptural  citations.  If  this 
handle  was  not  offered,  he  would  lay  bare  the  sensibil 
ity  of  patriotism.  Thus  it  was,  when  he  succeeded  in 
rescuing  the  man  who  had  deliberately  shot  down  a 
neighbor ;  who  moreover  lay  under  the  odious  suspicion 
of  being  a  tory,  and  who  was  proved  to  have  refused 
supplies  to  a  brigade  of  the  American  army."1 

Passing,  now,  from  these  general  descriptions  to  par 
ticular  instances,  we  may  properly  request  Dr.  Alexan 
der  to  remain  somewhat  longer  in  the  witness-stand, 
and  to  give  us,  in  detail,  some  of  his  own  recollections 
of  Patrick  Henry.  His  testimony,  accordingly,  is  in 
these  words  :  "  From  my  earliest  childhood  I  had  been 
accustomed  to  hear  of  the  eloquence  of  Patrick  Henry. 
On  this  subject  there  existed  but  one  opinion  in  the 
country.  The  power  of  his  eloquence  was  felt  equally 
by  the  learned  and  the  unlearned.  No  man  who  ever 
heard  him  speak,  on  any  important  occasion,  could  fail 
1  J.  W.  Alexander,  Life  of  A.  Alexander,  191-192. 


LAST  LABORS  AT   THE   BAR.  331 

to  admit  his  uncommon  power  over  the  minds  of  his 
hearers.  .  .  .  Being  then  a  young  man,  just  entering 
on  a  profession  in  which  good  speaking  was  very  im 
portant,  it  was  natural  for  me  to  observe  the  oratory 
of  celebrated  men.  I  was  anxious  to  ascertain  the 
true  secret  of  their  power ;  or  what  it  was  which  ena 
bled  them  to  sway  the  minds  of  hearers,  almost  at  their 
will. 

"  In  executing  a  mission  from  the  synod  of  Virginia, 
in  the  year  1794,  I  had  to  pass  through  the  county  of 
Prince  Edward,  where  Mr.  Henry  then  resided.  Under 
standing  that  he  was  to  appear  before  the  circuit  court, 
which  met  in  that  county,  in  defence  of  three  men 
charged  with  murder,  I  determined  to  seize  the  oppor 
tunity  of  observing  for  myself  the  eloquence  of  this  ex 
traordinary  orator.  It  was  with  some  difficulty  I  ob 
tained  a  seat  in  front  of  the  bar,  where  I  could  have  a 
full  view  of  the  speaker,  as  well  as  hear  him  distinctly. 
But  I  had  to  submit  to  a  severe  penance  in  gratifying 
my  curiosity  ;  for  the  whole  day  was  occupied  with  the 
examination  of  witnesses,  in  which  Mr.  Henry  was 
aided  by  two  other  lawyers.  In  person,  Mr.  Henry 
was  lean  rather  than  fleshy.  He  was  rather  above  than 
below  the  common  height,  but  had  a  stoop  in  the  shoul 
ders  which  prevented  him  from  appearing  as  tall  as  he 
really  was.  In  his  moments  of  animation,  he  had  the 
habit  of  straightening  his  frame,  and  adding  to  his  ap 
parent  stature.  He  wore  a  brown  wig,  which  exhibited 
no  indication  of  any  great  care  in  the  dressing.  Over  his 
shoulders  he  wore  a  brown  camlet  cloak.  Under  this  his 
clothing  was  black,  something  the  worse  for  wear.  The 
expression  of  his  countenance  was  that  of  solemnity 
and  deep  earnestness.  His  mind  appeared  to  be  always 


332  PATRICK  HENRY. 

absorbed  in  what,  for  the  time,  occupied  his  attention. 
His  forehead  was  high  and  spacious,  and  the  skin  of 
his  face  more  than  usually  wrinkled  for  a  man  of  fifty. 
His  eyes  were  small  and  deeply  set  in  his  head,  but 
were  of  a  bright  blue  color,  and  twinkled  much  in  their 
sockets.  In  short,  Mr.  Henry's  appearance  had  nothing 
very  remarkable,  as  he  sat  at  rest.  You  might  readily 
have  taken  him  for  a  common  planter,  who  cared  very 
little  about  his  personal  appearance.  In  his  manners, 
he  was  uniformly  respectful  and  courteous.  Candles 
were  brought  into  the  court-house,  when  the  examina 
tion  of  the  witnesses  closed ;  and  the  judges  put  it  to 
the  option  of  the  bar  whether  they  would  go  on  witli 
the  argument  that  night  or  adjourn  until  the  next  day. 
Paul  Carringtou,  Junior,  the  attorney  for  the  state,  a 
man  of  large  size,  and  uncommon  dignity  of  person  and 
manner,  and  also  an  accomplished  lawyer,  professed  his 
willingness  to  proceed  immediately,  while  the  testimony 
was  fresh  in  the  minds  of  all.  Now  for  the  first  time 
I  heard  Mr.  Henry  make  anything  of  a  speech  ;  an( 
though  it  was  short,  it  satisfied  me  of  one  thing,  whict 
I  had  particularly  desired  to  have  decided:  namely, 
whether  like  a  player  he  merely  assumed  the  appear 
ance  of  feeling.  His  manner  of  addressing  the  court 
was  profoundly  respectful.  He  would  be  willing  to  pro 
ceed  with  the  trial,  '  but,'  said  he,  '  my  heart  is  so  op 
pressed  with  the  weight  of  responsibility  which  rests 
upon  me,  having  the  lives  of  three  fellow-citizens  de 
pending,  probably,  on  the  exertions  which  I  may  be  able 
to  make  in  their  behalf  (here  he  turned  to  the  prisoners 
behind  him),  that  I  do  not  feel  able  to  proceed  to-night. 
I  hope  the  court  will  indulge  me,  and  postpone  the  trial 
till  the  morning.'  The  impression  made  by  these  few 


LAST  LABORS  AT  THE  BAR. 

words  was  such  as  I  assure  myself  no  one  can  ever  con 
ceive  by  seeing  them  in  print.  In  the  countenance, 
action,  and  intonation  of  the  speaker,  there  was  ex 
pressed  such  an  intensity  of  feeling,  that  all  my  doubts 
were  dispelled;  never  again  did  I  question  whether 
Henry  felt,  or  only  acted  a  feeling.  Indeed,  I  experi 
enced  an  instantaneous  sympathy  with  him  in  the  emo 
tions  which  he  expressed ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  the 
same  sympathy  was  felt  by  every  hearer. 

"  As  a  matter  of  course,  the  proceedings  were  de 
ferred  till  the  next  morning.  I  was  early  at  my  post ; 
the  judges  were  soon  on  the  bench,  and  the  prisoners  at 
the  bar.  Mr.  Carrington  .  .  .  opened  with  a  clear  and 
dignified  speech,  and  presented  the  evidence  to  the  jury. 
Everything  seemed  perfectly  plain.  Two  brothers  and 
a  brother-in-law  met  two  other  persons  in  pursuit  of  a 
slave,  supposed  to  be  harbored  by  the  brothers.  After 
some  altercation  and  mutual  abuse,  one  of  the  brothers, 
whose  name  was  John  Ford,  raised  a  loaded  gun  which 
he  was  carrying,  and  presenting  it  at  the  breast  of  one 
of  the  other  pair,  shot  him  dead,  in  open  day.  There 
was  no  doubt  about  the  fact.  Indeed,  it  was  not  denied. 
There  had  been  no  other  provocation  than  opprobrious 
words.  It  is  presumed  that  the  opinion  of  every  juror 
was  made  up  from  merely  hearing  the  testimony  ;  as 
Tom  Harvey,  the  principal  witness,  who  was  acting  as 
constable  on  the  occasion,  appeared  to  be  a  respectable 
man.  For  the  clearer  understanding  of  what  follows,  it 
must  be  observed  that  said  constable,  in  order  to  dis 
tinguish  him  from  another  of  the  name,  was  commonly 
called  Butterwood  Harvey,  as  he  lived  on  Butterwood 
Creek.  Mr.  Henry,  it  is  believed,  understanding  that 
the  people  were  on  their  guard  against  his  faculty  of 


334  PATRICK  HENRY. 

moving  the  passions  and  through  them  influencing  the 
judgment,  did  not  resort  to  the  pathetic  as  much  as  was 
his  usual  practice  in  criminal  cases.  His  main  object 
appeared  to  be,  throughout,  to  cast  discredit  on  the  test 
imony  of  Tom  Harvey.  This  he  attempted  by  causing 
the  law  respecting  riots  to  be  read  by  one  of  his  assist 
ants.  It  appeared  in  evidence  that  Tom  Harvey  had 
taken  upon  him  to  act  as  constable,  without  being  in 
commission ;  and  that  with  a  posse  of  men  he  had  en 
tered  the  house  of  one  of  the  Fords  in  search  of  the 
negro,  and  had  put  Mrs.  Ford,  in  her  husband's  absence, 
into  a  great  terror,  while  she  was  in  a  very  delicate 
condition,  near  the  time  of  her  confinement.  As  he 
descanted  on  the  evidence,  he  would  often  turn  to  Tom 
Harvey  —  a  large,  bold  -  looking  man  —  and  with  the 
most  sarcastic  look,  would  call  him  by  some  name  of 
contempt;  '  this  Butterwood  Tom  Harvey,'  k  this  would- 
be-constable,'  etc.  By  such  expressions,  his  contempt 
for  the  man  was  communicated  to  the  hearers.  I  own  I 
felt  it  gaining  on  me,  in  spite  of  my  better  judgment ; 
so  that  before  he  was  done,  the  impression  was  strong  on 
my  mind  that  Butterwood  Harvey  was  undeserving  of 
the  smallest  credit.  This  impression,  however,  I  found 
I  could  counteract  the  moment  I  had  time  for  reflection. 
The  only  part  of  the  speech  in  which  he  manifested  his 
power  of  touching  the  feelings  strongly,  was  where  he 
dwelt  on  the  irruption  of  the  company  into  Ford's 
house,  in  circumstances  so  perilous  to  the  solitary  wife. 
This  appeal  to  the  sensibility  of  husbands  —  and  he 
knew  that  all  the  jury  stood  in  this  relation  —  was 
overwhelming.  If  the  verdict  could  have  been  ren 
dered  immediately  after  this  burst  of  the  pathetic,  every 
man,  at  least  every  husband,  in  the  house,  would  have 


LAST  LABORS  AT  THE  BAR.  335 

been  for  rejecting  Harvey's  testimony,  if  not  for  hang 
ing  him  forthwith."  * 

A  very  critical  and  cool  -  headed  witness  respecting 
Patrick  Henry's  powers  as  an  advocate,  was  Judge 
Spencer  Roane,  who  presided  in  one  of  the  courts  in 
which  the  orator  was  much  engaged  after  his  return  to 
the  bar  in  1786.  "  When  I  saw  him  there,"  writes 
Judge  Roane,  "  he  must  necessarily  have  been  very 
rusty  ;  yet  I  considered  him  as  a  good  lawyer.  ...  It 
was  as  a  criminal  lawyer  that  his  eloquence  had  the 
finest  scope.  .  .  .  He  was  a  perfect  master  of  the  pas 
sions  of  his  auditory,  whether  in  the  tragic  or  the  comic 
line.  The  tones  of  his  voice,  to  say  nothing  of  his  mat 
ter  and  gesture,  were  insinuated  into  the  feelings  of  his 
hearers,  in  a  manner  that  baffled  all  description.  It 
seemed  to  operate  by  mere  sympathy,  and  by  his  tones 
alone  it  seemed  to  me  that  he  could  make  you  cry  or 
laugh  at  pleasure.  Yet  his  gesture  came  powerfully  in 
aid,  and  if  necessary,  would  approach  almost  to  the 
ridiculous.  ...  I  will  try  to  give  some  account  of  his 
tragic  and  comic  effect,  in  two  instances  that  came  be 
fore  me.  About  the  year  1792,  one  Holland  killed  a 
young  man  in  Botetourt.  .  .  .  Holland  had  gone  up 
from  Louisa  as  a  schoolmaster,  but  had  turned  out 
badly,  and  was  very  unpopular.  The  killing  was  in  the 
night,  and  was  generally  believed  to  be  murder.  .  .  . 
At  the  instance  of  the  father  and  for  a  reasonable  fee, 
Mr.  II.  undertook  to  go  to  Greenbrier  court  to  defend 
Holland.  Mr.  Winston  and  myself  were  the  judges. 
Such  were  the  prejudices  there,  as  I  was  afterwards 
informed  by  Thomas  Madison,  that  the  people  there 
declared  that  even  Patrick  Henry  need  not  come  to 
i  J.  W.  Alexander,  Life  of  Archibald  Alexander,  183-187. 


336  PATRICK  HENRY. 

defend  Holland,  unless  he  brought  a  jury  with  him. 
On  the  day  of  the  trial  the  court-house  was  crowded 
and  I  did  not  move  from  my  seat  for  fourteen  hours, 
and  had  no  wish  to  do  so.  The  examination  took  up  a 
great  part  of  the  time,  and  the  lawyers  were  probably 
exhausted.  Breckenridge  was  eloquent,  but  Henry  left 
no  dry  eye  in  the  court-house.  The  case,  I  believe, 
was  murder,  though,  possibly,  manslaughter  only  ;  and 
Henry  laid  hold  of  this  possibility  with  such  effect  as 
to  make  all  forget  that  Holland  had  killed  the  store 
keeper,  and  presented  the  deplorable  case  of  the  jury's 
killing  Holland,  an  innocent  man.  He  also  presented, 
as  it  were,  at  the  clerk's  table,  old  Holland  and  his  wife, 
who  were  then  in  Louisa,  and  asked  what  must  be  the 
feeling  of  this  venerable  pair  at  this  awful  moment,  and 
what  the  consequences  to  them  of  a  mistaken  verdict 
affecting  the  life  of  their  son.  He  caused  the  jury  to 
lose  sight  of  the  murder  they  were  then  trying,  and 
weep  with  old  Holland  and  his  wife,  whom  he  painted, 
and  perhaps  proved  to  be,  very  respectable.  All  this 
was  done  in  a  manner  so  solemn  and  touching,  and  a 
tone  so  irresistible,  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  stout 
est  heart  not  to  take  sides  with  the  criminal.  .  .  .  The 
result  of  the  trial  was,  that,  after  a  retirement  of  an 
half,  or  quarter,  of  an  hour,  the  jury  brought  in  a  ver 
dict  of  not  guilty  !  But  on  being  reminded  by  the  court 
that  they  might  find  an  inferior  degree  of  homicide, 
they  brought  in  a  verdict  of  manslaughter. 

"Mr.  Henry  was  equally  successful  in  the  comic  line. 
.  .  .  The  case  was  that  a  wagoner  and  the  plaintiff 
were  travelling  to  Richmond,  and  the  wagoner  knocked 
down  a  turkey  and  put  it  into  his  wagon.  Complaint 
was  made  to  the  defendant,  a  justice ;  both  the  parties 


LAST  LABORS  AT   THE  BAR.  337 

were  taken  up ;  and  the  wagoner  agreed  to  take  a 
whipping  rather  than  be  sent  to  jail.  But  the  plaintiff 
refused.  The  justice,  however,  gave  htm,  also,  a  small 
whipping ;  and  for  this,  the  suit  was  brought.  The 
plaintiff's  plea  was  that  he  was  wholly  innocent  of  the 
act  committed.  Mr.  H.,  on  the  contrary,  contended 
that  he  was  a  party  aiding  and  assisting.  In  the  course 
of  his  remarks,  he  thus  expressed  himself :  '  But,  gen 
tlemen  of  the  jury,  this  plaintiff  tells  you  that  he  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  turkey.  I  dare  say,  gentlemen, 
—  riot  until  it  was  roasted  !  '  and  he  pronounced  the 
word  —  '  roasted  '  —  with  such  rotundity  of  voice,  and 
comicalness  of  manner  and  gesture,  that  it  threw  every 
one  into  a  fit  of  laughter  at  the  plaintiff,  who  stood  up 
in  the  place  usually  allotted  to  the  criminals ;  and  the 
defendant  was  let  off  with  little  or  no  damages."  J 

Finally,  we  must  recall,  in  illustration  of  our  present 
subject,  an  anecdote  left  on  record  in  1813,  by  the  Rev 
erend  Conrad  Speece,  highly  distinguished,  during  his 
lifetime,  in  the  Presbyterian  communion.  "  Many  years 
ago,"  he  then  wrote,  "  I  was  at  the  trial,  in  one  of  our 
district  courts,  of  a  man  charged  with  murder.  The 
case  was  briefly  this  :  the  prisoner  had  gone,  in  execu 
tion  of  his  office  as  a  constable,  to  arrest  a  slave  who 
had  been  guilty  of  some  misconduct,  and  bring  him  to 
justice.  Expecting  opposition  in  the  business,  the  con 
stable  took  several  men  with  him,  some  of  them  armed. 
They  found  the  slave  on  the  plantation  of  his  master, 
within  view  of  the  house,  and  proceeded  to  seize  and 
bind  him.  His  mistress,  seeing  the  arrest,  came  down 
and  remonstrated  vehemently  against  it.  Finding  her 
efforts  unavailing,  she  went  off  to  a  barn  where  her  hus- 
i  MS. 


328  PATRICK  HENRY. 

band  was,  who  was  presently  perceived  running  briskly 
to  the  house.  It  was  known  he  always  kept  a  loaded 
rifle  over  his  door.  The  constable  now  desired  his  com 
pany  to  remain  where  they  were,  taking  care  to  keep 
the  slave  in  custody,  while  he  himself  would  go  to  the 
house  to  prevent  mischief.  He  accordingly  ran  towards 
the  house.  When  he  arrived  within  a  short  distance  of 
it,  the  master  appeared  coming  out  of  the  door  with  his 
rifle  in  his  hand.  Some  witnesses  said  that  as  he  came 
to  the  door  he  drew  the  cock  of  the  piece,  and  was  seen 
in  the  act  of  raising  it  to  the  position  of  firing.  But 
upon  these  points  there  was  not  an  entire  agreement 
in  the  evidence.  The  constable,  standing  near  a  small 
building  in  the  yard,  at  this  instant  fired,  and  the  fire 
had  a  fatal  effect.  No  previous  malice  was  proved 
against  him  ;  and  his  plea  upon  the  trial  was,  that  he 
had  taken  the  life  of  his  assailant  in  necessary  self- 
defence. 

"A  great  mass  of  testimony  was  delivered.  This  was 
commented  upon  with  considerable  ability  by  the  lawyer 
for  the  commonwealth,  and  by  another  lawyer  engaged 
by  the  friends  of  the  deceased  for  the  prosecution.  The 
prisoner  was  also  defended,  in  elaborate  speeches,  by 
two  respectable  advocates.  These  proceedings  brought 
the  day  to  a  close.  The  general  whisper  through  a 
crowded  house  was,  that  the  man  was  guilty  and  could 
not  be  saved. 

"  About  dusk,  candles  were  brought,  and  Henry  arose. 
His  manner  was  .  .  .  plain,  simple,  and  entirely  unas 
suming.  '  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,'  said  he,  *  I  dare  say 
we  are  all  very  much  fatigued  with  this  tedious  trial. 
The  prisoner  at  the  bar  has  been  well  defended  already; 
but  it  is  my  duty  to  offer  you  some  further  observe 


LAST  LABORS   AT   THE  BAR.  339 

tions  in  behalf  of  this  unfortunate  man.  I  shall  aim  at 
brevity.  But  should  I  take  up  more  of  your  time  than 
you  expect,  I  hope  you  will  hear  me  with  patience, 
when  you  consider  that  blood  is  concerned.' 

"  I  cannot  admit  the  possibility  that  any  one,  who 
never  heard  Henry  speak,  should  be  made  fully  to  con 
ceive  the  force  of  impression  which  he  gave  to  these 
few  words,  '  blood  is  concerned.'  I  had  been  on  my 
feet  through  the  day,  pushed  about  in  the  crowd,  and 
was  excessively  weary.  I  was  strongly  of  opinion,  too, 
notwithstanding  all  the  previous  defensive  pleadings, 
that  the  prisoner  was  guilty  of  murder ;  and  I  felt  anx 
ious  to  know  how  the  matter  would  terminate.  Yet 
when  Henry  had  uttered  these  words,  my  feelings  un 
derwent  an  instantaneous  change.  I  found  everything 
within  me  answering,  —  *  Yes,  since  blood  is  concerned, 
in  the  name  of  all  that  is  righteous,  go  on  ;  we  will 
hear  you  with  patience  until  the  rising  of  to-morrow's 
sun !  '  This  bowing  of  the  soul  must  have  been  uni 
versal  ;  for  the  profoundest  silence  reigned,  as  if  our 
very  breath  had  been  suspended.  The  spell  of  the 
magician  was  upon  us,  and  we  stood  like  statues  around 
him.  Under  the  touch  of  his  genius,  every  particular 
of  the  story  assumed  a  new  aspect,  and  his  cause  became 
continually  more  bright  and  promising.  At  length  he 
arrived  at  the  fatal  act  itself :  '  You  have  been  told,  gen 
tlemen,  that  the  prisoner  was  bound  by  every  obligation 
to  avoid  the  supposed  necessity  of  firing,  by  leaping  be 
hind  a  house  near  which  he  stood  at  that  moment. 
Had  he  been  attacked  with  a  club,  or  with  stones,  the 
argument  would  have  been  unanswerable,  and  I  should 
feel  myself  compelled  to  give  up  the  defence  in  despair. 
But  surely  I  need  not  tell  you,  gentlemen,  how  wide  is 


840  PATRICK  HENRY. 

the  difference  between  sticks  or  stones,  and  double- 
triggered,  loaded  rifles  cocked  at  your  breast ! '  The 
effect  of  this  terrific  image,  exhibited  in  this  great 
orator's  peerless  manner,  cannot  be  described.  I  dare 
not  attempt  to  delineate  the  paroxysm  of  emotion  which 
it  excited  in  every  heart.  The  result  of  the  whole  was, 
that  the  prisoner  was  acquitted ;  with  the  perfect  appro 
bation,  I  believe,  of  the  numerous  assembly  who  at 
tended  the  trial.  What  was  it  that  gave  such  trans 
cendent  force  to  the  eloquence  of  Henry  ?  His  reason 
ing  powers  were  good;  but  they  have  been  equalled, 
and  more  than  equalled,  by  those  of  many  other  men. 
His  imagination  was  exceedingly  quick,  and  commanded 
all  the  stores  of  nature,  as  materials  for  illustrating  his 
subject.  His  voice  and  delivery  were  inexpressibly 
happy.  But  his  most  irresistible  charm  was  the  vivid 
feeling  of  his  cause,  with  which  he  spoke.  Such  feel 
ing  infallibly  communicates  itself  to  the  breast  of  the 
hearer."  1 

i  Howe,  Hist.  Coll.  Fa.,  222-223. 


CHAPTER   XXL 

IN    RETIREMENT. 

IN  the  year  1794,  being  then  fifty-eight  years  old,  and 
possessed  at  last  of  a  competent  fortune,  Patrick  Henry 
withdrew  from  his  profession,  and  resolved  to  spend  in 
retirement  the  years  that  should  remain  to  him  on  earth. 
Removing  from  Prince  Edward  County,  he  lived  for  a 
short  time  at  Long  Island,  in  Campbell  County ;  but  in 
1795,  he  finally  established  himself  in  the  county  of 
Charlotte,  on  an  estate  called  Red  Hill,  —  an  estate 
which  continued  to  be  his  home  during  the  rest  of  his 
life,  which  gave  to  him  his  burial  place,  and  which  still 
remains  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants. 

The  rapidity  with  which  he  had  thus  risen  out  of 
pecuniary  embarrassments  was  not  due  alone  to  the  earn 
ings  of  his  profession  during  those  few  years  ;  for  while 
his  eminence  as  an  advocate  commanded  the  highest  fees, 
probably,  that  were  then  paid  in  Virginia,  it  is  apparent 
from  his  account-books  that  those  fees  were  not  at  all  ex 
orbitant,  and  for  a  lawyer  of  his  standing  would  not  now 
be  regarded  as  even  considerable.  The  truth  is  that, 
subsequently  to  his  youthful  and  futile  attempts  at  busi 
ness,  he  had  so  profited  by  the  experiences  of  his  life  as 
to  have  become  a  sagacious  and  an  expert  man  of  busi 
ness.  "  He  could  buy  or  sell  a  horse,  or  a  negro,  as 
well  as  anybody,  and  was  peculiarly  a  judge  of  the 
value  and  quality  of  lands."  l  It  seems  to  have  been 
1  Spencer  Roane,  MS. 


342  PATRICK   HENRY. 

chiefly  from  his  investments  in  lands,  made  by  him  with 
foresight  and  judgment,  and  from  which,  for  a  long  time, 
he  had  reaped  only  burdens  and  anxieties,  that  he  de 
rived  the  wealth  that  secured  for  him  the  repose  of  his 
last  years.  The  charge  long  afterward  made  by  Jeffer 
son,  that  Patrick  Henry's  fortune  came  either  from  a 
mean  use  of  his  right  to  pay  his  land-debts  in  a  depre 
ciated  currency  "  not  worth  oak-leaves,"  or  from  any 
connection  on  his  part  with  the  profligate  and  infamous 
Yazoo  speculation,  has  been  shown,  by  ample  evidence, 
to  be  untrue.1 

The  descriptions  which  have  come  down  to  us  of  the 
life  led  by  the  old  statesman  in  those  last  five  years  of 
retirement  make  a  picture  pleasant  to  look  upon.  The 
house  at  Red  Hill,  which  then  became  his  home,  "is 
beautifully  situated  on  an  elevated  ridge,  the  dividing 
line  of  Campbell  and  Charlotte,  within  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  of  the  junction  of  Falling  River  with  the  Staun- 
ton.  From  it  the  valley  of  the  Staunton  stretches 
southward  about  three  miles,  varying  from  a  quarter 
to  nearly  a  mile  in  width,  and  of  an  oval-like  form. 
Through  most  fertile  meadows  waving  in  their  golden 
luxuriance,  slowly  winds  the  river,  overhung  by  mossy 
foliage,  while  on  all  sides  gently  sloping  hills,  rich  in 
verdure,  enclose  the  whole,  and  impart  to  it  an  air  of 
seclusion  and  repose.  From  the  brow  of  the  hill,  west 
of  the  house,  is  a  scene  of  an  entirely  different  charac 
ter  :  the  Blue  Ridge,  with  the  lofty  peaks  of  Otter,  ap 
pears  in  the  horizon  at  a  distance  of  nearly  sixty  miles." 
Under  the  trees  which  shaded  his  lawn,  and  "in  full 
view  of  the  beautiful  valley  beneath,  the  orator  was  ac 
customed,  in  pleasant  weather,  to  sit  mornings  and  even- 
i  Hist.  Mag.  for  1867,  93  ;  369-370. 


IN  RETIREMENT.  343 

ings,  with  his  chair  leaning  against  one  of  their  trunks, 
and  a  can  of  cool  spring-water  by  his  side,  from  which  he 
took  frequent  draughts.  Occasionally,  he  walked  to 
and  fro  in  the  yard  from  one  clump  of  trees  to  the  other, 
buried  in  revery,  at  which  times  he  was  never  inter 
rupted."  l  "  His  great  delight,"  says  one  of  his  sons-in- 
law,  "  was  in  conversation,  in  the  society  of  his  friends 
and  family,  and  in  the  resources  of  his  own  mind."  2 
Thus  beneath  his  own  roof,  or  under  the  shadow  of  his 
own  trees,  he  loved  to  sit,  like  a  patriarch,  with  his 
family  and  his  guests  gathered  affectionately  around 
him,  and  there,  free  from  ceremony  as  from  care,  to 
give  himself  up  to  the  interchange  of  congenial  thought 
whether  grave  or  playful,  and  even  to  the  sports  of  the 
children.  "His  visitors,"  writes  one  of  them,  "have 
not  unfrequently  caught  him  lying  on  the  floor,  with  a 
group  of  these  little  ones  climbing  over  him  in  every  di 
rection,  or  dancing  around  him  with  obstreperous  mirth, 
to  the  tune  of  his  violin,  while  the  only  contest  seemed 
to  be  who  should  make  the  most  noise."  3 

The  evidence  of  contemporaries  respecting  the  sweet 
ness  of  his  spirit  and  his  great  lovableness  in  private 
life  is  most  abundant.  One  who  knew  him  well  in  his 
family,  and  who  was  also  quite  willing  to  be  critical 
upon  occasion,  has  said  :  "  With  respect  to  the  domestic 
character  of  Mr.  Henry,  nothing  could  be  more  amiable. 
In  every  relation,  as  a  husband,  father,  master,  and 
neighbor,  he  was  entirely  exemplary.  As  to  the  dis 
position  of  Mr.  Henry,  it  was  the  best  imaginable.  I 
am  positive  that  I  never  saw  him  in  a  passion,  nor  ap 
parently  even  out  of  temper.  Circumstances  which  would 

i  Howe,  Hist.  Coll.  Va.,  221.  2  Spencer  Roane,  MS. 

8  Cited  in  Wirt,  380-381. 


;}44  PATRICK  HENRY. 

have  highly  irritated  other  men  had  no  such  visible  ef 
fect  on  him.  He  was  always  calm  and  collected ;  and 
the  rude  attacks  of  his  adversaries  in  debate  only 
whetted  the  poignancy  of  his  satire.  .  .  .  Shortly  after 
the  constitution  was  adopted,  a  series  of  the  most  abu 
sive  and  scurrilous  pieces  came  out  against  him,  under 
the  signature  of  Decius.  They  were  supposed  to  be  writ 
ten  by  John  Nicholas,  .  .  .  with  the  assistance  of  other 
more  important  men.  They  assailed  Mr.  Henry's  con 
duct  in  the  convention,  and  slandered  his  character  by 
various  stories  hatched  up  against  him.  These  pieces 
were  extremely  hateful  to  all  Mr.  Henry's  friends,  and, 
indeed,  to  a  great  portion  of  the  community.  I  was  at 
his  house  in  Prince  Edward  during  the  thickest  of 
them.  .  .  .  He  evinced  no  feeling  on  the  occasion,  and 
far  less  condescended  to  parry  the  effects  on  the  public 
mind.  It  was  too  puny  a  contest  for  him,  and  he  re 
posed  upon  the  consciousness  of  his  own  integrity.  .  .  . 
With  many  sublime  virtues,  he  had  no  vice  that  I  knew 
or  ever  heard  of,  and  scarcely  a  foible.  I  have  thought, 
indeed,  that  he  was  too  much  attached  to  property,  — 
a  defect,  however,  which  might  be  excused  when  we 
reflect  on  the  largeness  of  a  beloved  family,  and  the 
straitened  circumstances  in  which  he  had  been  confined 
during  a  great  part  of  his  life*"  l 

Concerning  his  personal  habits,  we  have,  through  his 
grandson,  Patrick  Henry  Fontaine,  some  testimony 
which  has  the  merit  of  placing  the  great  man  somewhat 
more  familiarly  before  us.  "  He  was,"  we  are  told, 
"  very  abstemious  in  his  diet,  and  used  no  wine  or  alco 
holic  stimulants.  Distressed  and  alarmed  at  the  in 
crease  of  drunkenness  after  the  revolutionary  war,  he  did 
1  Spencer  Roane,  MS. 


IN  RETIREMENT.  345 

everything  in  his  power  to  arrest  the  vice.  He  thought 
that  the  introduction  of  a  harmless  beverage,  as  a  sub 
stitute  for  distilled  spirits,  would  be  beneiicial.  To  ef 
fect  this  object,  he  ordered  from  his  merchant  in  Scot 
land  a  consignment  of  barley,  and  a  Scotch  brewer 
and  his  wife  to  cultivate  the  grain,  and  make  small 
beer.  To  render  the  beverage  fashionable  and  popular, 
he  always  had  it  upon  his  table  while  he  was  governor 
during  his  last  term  of  office  ;  and  he  continued  its  use, 
but  drank  nothing  stronger,  while  he  lived."  l 

Though  he  was  always  a  most  loyal  Virginian,  he  be 
came,  particularly  in  his  later  years,  very  unfriendly  to 
that  renowned  and  consolatory  herb  so  long  associated 
with  the  fame  and  fortune  of  his  native  state.  "  In  his 
old  age,  the  condition  of  his  nervous  system  made  the 
scent  of  a  tobacco-pipe  very  disagreeable  to  him.  The 
old  colored  house-servants  were  compelled  to  hide  their 
pipes,  and  rid  themselves  of  the  scent  of  tobacco,  before 
they  ventured  to  approach  him.  .  .  .  They  protested 
that  they  had  not  smoked,  or  seen  a  pipe  ;  and  he  in 
variably  proved  the  culprit  guilty  by  following  the  scent, 
and  leading  them  to  the  corn-cob  pipes  hid  in  some 
crack  or  cranny,  which  he  made  them  take  and  throw 
instantly  into  the  kitchen  fire,  without  reforming  their 
habits,  or  correcting  the  evil,  which  is  likely  to  continue, 
as  long  as  tobacco  will  grow."  2 

Concerning  another  of  his  personal  habits,  during  the 
years  thus  passed  in  retirement  at  Red  Hill,  there  is 
a  charming  description,  also  derived  from  the  grandson 
to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  facts  just  mentioned  : 
"  His  residence  overlooked  a  large  field  in  the  bottom 
of  Staunton  River,  the  most  of  which  could  be  seen  from 
i  Fontaine,  MS.  2  Ibid. 


846  PATRICK  HENRY. 

his  yard.  He  rose  early ;  and  in  the  mornings  of  the 
spring,  summer,  and  fall,  before  sunrise,  while  the  air 
was  cool  and  calm,  reflecting  clearly  and  distinctly  the 
sounds  of  the  lowing  herds  and  singing  birds,  he  stood 
upon  an  eminence,  and  gave  orders  and  directions  to 
his  servants  at  work  a  half  mile  distant  from  him.  The 
strong,  musical  voices  of  the  negroes  responded  to  him. 
During  this  elocutionary  morning  exercise,  his  enuncia 
tion  was  clear  and  distinct  enough  to  be  heard  over  an 
area  which  ten  thousand  people  could  not  have  filled ; 
and  the  tones  of  his  voice  were  as  melodious  as  the 
notes  of  au  Alpine  horn."  J 

Of  course  the  house-servants  and  the  field-servants  just 
mentioned  were  slaves ;  and  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  his  life,  Patrick  Henry  was  a  slave-holder.  He 
bought  slaves,  he  sold  slaves,  and  along  with  the  other 
property  —  the  lands,  the  houses,  the  cattle  —  bequeathed 
by  him  to  his  heirs,  were  numerous  human  beings  of 
the  African  race.  What,  then,  was  the  opinion  respect 
ing  slavery,  held  by  this  great  champion  of  the  rights  of 
man  ?  "  Is  it  not  amazing  "  —  thus  he  wrote  in  1773  — 
"  that,  at  a  time  when  the  rights  of  humanity  are  de 
fined  and  understood  with  precision,  in  a  country  above 
all  others  fond  of  liberty,  in  such  an  age,  we  find  men, 
professing  a  religion  the  most  humane,  mild,  meek, 
gentle,  and  generous,  adopting  a  principle  as  repugnant 
to  humanity  as  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  Bible  and 
destructive  to  liberty?  .  .  .  Would  any  one  believe 
that  I  am  master  of  slaves  of  my  own  purchase  ?  I  am 
drawn  along  by  the  general  inconvenience  of  living 
without  them.  I  will  not,  I  cannot,  justify  it ;  how 
ever  culpable  my  conduct,  1  will  so  far  pay  my  '  devoir' 
1  Fontaine,  MS. 


IN  RETIREMENT.  347 

to  virtue  as  to  own  the  excellence  and  rectitude  of  her 
precepts,  and  to  lament  my  want  of  conformity  to  them. 
I  believe  a  time  will  come  when  an  opportunity  will  be 
offered  to  abolish  this  lamentable  evil :  everything  we 
can  do  is  to  improve  it,  if  it  happens  in  our  day ;  if  not, 
let  us  transmit  to  our  descendants,  together  with  our 
slaves,  a  pity  for  their  unhappy  lot,  and  an  abhorrence 
of  slavery.  We  owe  to  the  purity  of  our  religion,  to 
show  that  it  is  at  variance  with  that  law  which  warrants 
slavery."  1  After  the  revolution,  and  before  the  adop 
tion  of  the  constitution,  he  earnestly  advocated,  in  the 
Virginia  house  of  delegates,  some  method  of  emancipa 
tion  ;  and  even  in  the  convention  of  1788,  where  he 
argued  against  the  constitution  on  the  ground  that  it 
obviously  conferred  upon  the  general  government,  in 
an  emergency,  that  power  of  emancipation  which,  in 
his  opinion,  should  be  retained  by  the  states,  he  still 
avowed  his  hostility  to  slavery,  and  at  the  same  time  his 
inability  to  see  any  practicable  means  of  ending  it : 
"  Slavery  is  detested :  we  feel  its  fatal  effects  —  we  de 
plore  it  with  all  the  pity  of  humanity.  ...  As  we 
ought  with  gratitude  to  admire  that  decree  of  Heaven 
which  has  numbered  us  among  the  free,  we  ought  to 
lament  and  deplore  the  necessity  of  holding  our  fellow- 
men  in  bondage.  But  is  it  practicable,  by  any  human 
means,  to  liberate  them  without  producing  the  most 
dreadful  and  ruinous  consequences  ?  "  2 

During  all  the  years  of  his  retirement,  his  great  fame 
drew  to  him  many  strangers,  who  came  to  pay  their 
homage  to  him,  to  look  upon  his  face,  to  listen  to  his 
words.  Such  guests  were  always  received  by  him  with 

1  Bancroft,  ed.  1869,  vi.  416-417. 

2  Elliot,  Debates,  iii  455-4.56  ;  590-591. 


348  PATRICK  HENRY. 

a  cordiality  that  was  unmistakable,  and  so  modest  and 
simple  as  to  put  them  at  once  at  their  ease.  Of  course 
they  desired  most  of  all  to  hear  him  talk  of  his  own  past 
life,  and  of  the  great  events  in  which  he  had  borne  so 
brilliant  a  part ;  but  whenever  he  was  persuaded  to  do 
so,  it  was  always  with  the  most  quiet  references  to  him 
self.  "  No  man,"  says  one  who  knew  him  well,  "ever 
vaunted  less  of  his  achievements  than  Mr.  II.  I  hardly 
ever  heard  him  speak  of  those  great  achievements 
which  form  the  prominent  part  of  his  biography.  As 
for  boasting,  he  was  entirely  a  stranger  to  it,  unless  it 
be  that,  in  his  latter  days,  he  seemed  proud  of  the  good 
ness  of  his  lands,  and,  I  believe,  wished  to  be  thought 
wealthy.  It  is  my  opinion  that  he  was  better  pleased  to 
be  flattered  as  to  his  wealth  than  as  to  his  great  talents. 
This  I  have  accounted  for  by  recollecting  that  he  had 
long  been  under  narrow  and  difficult  circumstances  as 
to  property,  from  which  he  was  at  length  happily  re 
lieved  ;  whereas  there  never  was  a  time  when  his  tal 
ents  had  not  always  been  conspicuous,  though  he  al 
ways  seemed  unconscious  of  them."  1 

It  should  not  be  supposed  that,  in  his  final  with 
drawal  from  public  and  professional  labors,  he  surren 
dered  himself  to  the  enjoyment  of  domestic  happiness, 
without  any  positive  occupation  of  the  mind.  From 
one  of  his  grandsons,  who  was  much  with  him  in  those 
days,  the  tradition  is  derived  that,  besides  "  setting  a 
good  example  of  honesty,  benevolence,  hospitality,  and 
every  social  virtue,"  he  assisted  "  in  the  education  of 
his  younger  children,"  and  especially  devoted  much 
time  "  to  earnest  efforts  to  establish  true  Christianity  in 
our  country."  2  He  gave  himself  more  than  ever  to  the 
1  Spencer  Roane,  MS.  2  Fontaine,  MS. 


IN  RETIREMENT.  349 

study  of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  of  two  or  three  of  the 
great  English  divines,  particularly  Tillotson,  Butler, 
and  Sherlock.  The  sermons  of  the  latter,  he  declared, 
had  removed  "  all  his  doubts  of  the  truth  of  Christian 
ity  " ;  and  from  a  volume  which  contained  them,  and 
which  was  full  of  his  pencilled  notes,  he  was  accustomed 
to  read  "  every  Sunday  evening  to  his  family ;  after 
which  they  all  joined  in  sacred  music,  while  he  accom 
panied  them  on  the  violin."  ] 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  time  in  his  life,  after  his 
arrival  at  manhood,  when  Patrick  Henry  was  not  re 
garded  by  his  private  acquaintances  as  a  positively  re 
ligious  person.  Moreover,  while  he  was  most  tolerant 
of  all  forms  of  religion,  and  was  on  peculiarly  friendly 
terms  with  their  ministers  to  whose  preaching  he  often 
listened,  it  is  inaccurate  to  say,  as  Wirt  has  done,  that 
though  he  was  a  Christian,  he  was  so  "  after  a  form  of 
his  own ; "  that  "  he  was  never  attached  to  any  partic 
ular  religious  society,  and  never  .  .  .  communed  with 
any  church."  2  On  the  contrary,  from  a  grandson  who 
spent  many  years  in  his  household  comes  the  tradition 
that  "  his  parents  were  members  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  of  which  his  uncle,  Patrick  Henry, 
was  a  minister  ;  "  that  "  he  was  baptized  and  made  a 
member  of  it  in  early  life ; "  and  that  "  he  lived  and 
died  an  exemplary  member  of  it."  3  Furthermore,  in 
1830,  the  Reverend  Charles  Dresser,  rector  of  Antrim 
Parish,  Halifax  County,  Virginia,  wrote  that  the  widow 
of  Patrick  Henry  told  him  that  her  husband  used  to  re 
ceive  "  the  communion  as  often  as  an  opportunity  was 

1  J.  W.  Alexander,  Life  of  A.  Alexander,  193  ;  Howe,  Hist.  Coll. 
Va.,  221. 

2  Wirt,  402.  *  Fontaine,  MS. 


350  PATRICK  HENRY. 

offered,  and  on  such  occasions  always  fasted  until  after 
he  had  communicated,  and  spent  the  day  in  the  greatest 
retirement.  This  he  did  both  while  governor  and  after 
ward."  l  ID  a  letter  to  one  of  his  daughters,  written  in 
1796,  he  makes  this  touching  confession:  "Amongst 
other  strange  things  said  of  me,  I  hear  it  is  said  by  the 
deists  that  I  am  one  of  the  number ;  and,  indeed,  that 
some  good  people  think  I  am  no  Christian.  This 
thought  gives  me  much  more  pain  than  the  appellation  of 
Tory  ;  because  I  think  religion  of  infinitely  higher  im 
portance  than  politics ;  and  I  find  much  cause  to  re 
proach  myself  that  I  have  lived  so  long,  and  have  given 
no  decided  and  public  proofs  of  my  being  a  Christian. 
But,  indeed,  my  dear  child,  this  is  a  character  which  I 
prize  far  above  all  this  world  has,  or  can  boast."2 
While  he  thus  spoke,  humbly  and  sorrowfully,  of  his 
religious  position  as  a  thing  so  little  known  to  the 
public  that  it  could  be  entirely  misunderstood  by  a  por 
tion  of  them,  it  is  plain  that  no  one  who  had  seen  him 
in  the  privacy  of  his  life  at  home  could  have  had  any 
misunderstanding  upon  that  subject.  For  years  before 
his  retirement  from  the  law,  it  had  been  his  custom, 
we  are  told,  to  spend  "one  hour  every  day  ...  in 
private  devotion.  His  hour  of  prayer  was  the  close  of 
the  day,  including  sunset ;  .  .  .  and  during  that  sacred 
hour,  none  of  his  family  intruded  upon  his  privacy."  8 

As  regards  his  religious  faith,  Patrick  Henry,  while 
never  ostentatious  of  it,  was  always  ready  to  avow  it, 
and  to  defend  it.  The  French  alliance  during  our  revo 
lution,  and  our  close  intercourse  with  France  immedi 
ately  afterward,  hastened  among  us  the  introduction  of 

1  Mcade.  Old  Churches,  etc.,  ii.  12. 

2  Wirt,  387.  a  Fontaine,  MS. 


IN  RETIREMENT.  351 

certain  French  writers  who  were  assailants  of  Christian 
ity,  and  who  soon  set  up  among  the  younger  and  per 
haps  brighter  men  of  the  country  the  fashion  of  casting 
off,  as  parts  of  an  outworn  and  pitiful  superstition,  the 
religious  ideas  of  their  childhood,  and  even  the  morality 
which  had  found  its  strongest  sanctions  in  those  ideas. 
Upon  all  this,  Patrick  Henry  looked  with  grief  and 
alarm.  In  his  opinion,  a  far  deeper,  a  far  wiser  and 
nobler  handling  of  all  the  immense  questions  involved 
in  the  problem  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  was  fur 
nished  by  such  English  writers  as  Sherlock  and  Bishop 
Butler,  and,  for  popular  use,  even  Soame  Jenyns.  There 
fore,  as  French  skepticism  then  had  among  the  Virginia 
lawyers  and  politicians  its  diligent  missionaries,  so,  with 
the  energy  and  directness  that  always  characterized 
him,  he  determined  to  confront  it,  if  possible,  with  an 
equal  diligence  ;  and  he  then  deliberately  made  himself, 
while  still  a  Virginia  lawyer  arid  politician,  a  missionary 
also,  —  a  missionary  on  behalf  of  rational  and  enlight 
ened  Christian  faith.  Thus  during  his  second  term  as 
governor  he  caused  to  be  printed,  on  his  own  account, 
an  edition  of  Soame  Jenyns's  "  View  of  the  Internal 
Evidence  of  Christianity  ; "  likewise,  an  edition  of 
Butler's  "  Analogy  ;  "  and  thenceforward,  particularly 
among  the  young  men  of  Virginia,  assailed  as  they  were 
by  the  fashionable  skepticism,  this  illustrious  colporteur 
was  active  in  the  defence  of  Christianity,  not  only  by 
his  own  sublime  and  persuasive  arguments,  but  by  the 
distribution,  as  the  fit  occasion  offered,  of  one  or  the 
other  of  these  two  books. 

Accordingly,  when,  during  the  first  two  years  of  his 
retirement,  Thomas  Paine's  "  Age  of  Reason  "  made 
its  appearance,  the  old  statesman  was  moved  to  write 


352  PATRICK  HENRY. 

out  a  somewhat  elaborate  treatise  in  defence  of  the  truth 
of  Christianity.  This  treatise  it  was  his  purpose  to  have 
published.  "lie  read  the  manuscript  to  his  family  as 
he  progressed  with  it,  and  completed  it  a  short  time  be 
fore  his  death."  When  it  was  finished,  however,  being 
"  diffident  about  his  own  work,"  and  impressed,  also,  by 
the  great  ability  of  the  replies  to  Paine,  which  were 
then  appearing  in  England,  "  he  directed  his  wife  to 
destroy  "  what  he  had  written.  She  k<  complied  literally 
with  his  directions,"  and  thus  put  beyond  the  chance  of 
publication  a  work  which  seemed,  to  some  who  heard  it, 
to  be  "  the  most  eloquent  and  unanswerable  argument 
in  the  defence  of  the  Bible  which  was  ever  written."  1 

Finally,  in  his  last  will  and  testament,  bearing  the 
date  of  November  20,  1798,  and  written  throughout,  as 
he  says,  "  with  my  own  hand,"  he  chose  to  insert  a 
touching  affirmation  of  his  own  deep  faith  in  Christian 
ity.  After  distributing  his  estate  among  his  descend 
ants,  he  thus  concludes:  "This  is  all  the  inheritance  I 
can  give  to  my  dear  family.  The  religion  of  Christ  can 
give  them  one  which  will  make  them  rich  indeed."  '2 

It  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  this  deep  seclusion  and 
these  eager  religious  studies  implied  in  Patrick  Henry 
any  forgetfulness  of  the  political  concerns  of  his  own 
country,  or  any  indifference  to  those  mighty  events 
which,  during  those  years,  were  taking  place  in  Europe, 
and  were  reacting  with  tremendous  effect  upon  the 
thought,  the  emotion,  and  even  the  material  interests 
of  America.  Neither  did  he  succeed  in  thus  preserv 
ing  the  retirement  which  he  had  resolved  upon,  without 

1  Fontaine,  MS.  Also  Meade,  Old  Churches,  etc.,  ii.  12  ;  and  Win. 
Wirt  Henry,  MS. 

*  MS.    Certified  copy. 


IN  RETIREMENT.  353 

having  to  resist  the  attempts  of  both  political  parties  to 
draw  him  forth  again  into  official  life.  All  these  mat 
ters,  indeed,  are  involved  in  the  story  of  his  political 
attitude  from  the  close  of  his  struggle  for  amending  the 
constitution,  down  to  the  very  close  of  his  life,  —  a 
story  which  used  to  be  told  with  angry  vituperation  on 
one  side,  perhaps  with  some  meek  apologies  on  the 
other.  Certainly,  the  day  for  such  comment  is  long 
past.  In  the  disinterestedness  which  the  lapse  of  time 
has  now  made  an  easy  virtue  for  us,  we  may  see,  plainly 
enough,  that  such  ungentle  words  as  "apostate,"  and 
*'  turn-coat,"  with  which  his  name  used  to  be  plentifully 
assaulted,  were  but  the  missiles  of  partisan  excitement ; 
and  that  by  his  act  of  intellectual  readjustment  with  re 
spect  to  the  new  conditions  forced  upon  human  society, 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  by  the  French  revolution, 
he  developed  no  occasion  for  apologies,  —  since  he 
therein  did  nothing  that  was  unusual  at  that  time 
among  honest  and  thoughtful  men  everywhere,  and 
nothing  that  was  inconsistent  with  the  professions  or 
the  tendencies  of  his  own  previous  life.  It  becomes 
our  duty,  however,  to  trace  this  story  over  again,  as 
concisely  as  possible,  but  in  the  light  of  much  historical 
evidence  that  has  never  hitherto  been  presented  in  con 
nection  with  it. 

Upon  the  adoption,  in  1791,  of  the  first  ten  amend 
ments  to  the  constitution,  every  essential  objection 
which  he  had  formerly  urged  against  that  instrument 
was  satisfied  ;  and  there  then  remained  no  good  reason 
why  he  should  any  longer  hold  himself  aloof  from  the 
cordial  support  of  the  new  government,  especially  as 
directed,  first  by  Washington,  and  afterward  by  John 
Adams,  —  two  men  with  whom,  both  personally  and 


354  PATRICK  HENRY. 

politically,  he  had  always  been  in  great  harmony,  ex 
cepting  only  upon  this  single  matter  of  the  constitution 
in  its  original  form.  Undoubtedly,  the  contest  which 
he  had  waged  on  that  question  had  been  so  hot  and  so 
bitter  that,  even  after  it  was  ended,  some  time  would 
be  required  for  his  recovery  from  the  soreness  of  spirit, 
from  the  tone  of  suspicion  and  even  of  enmity,  which  it 
had  occasioned.  Accordingly,  in  the  correspondence 
and  other  records  of  the  time,  we  catch  some  glimpses 
of  him,  which  show  that  even  after  congress  had  passed 
the  great  amendments,  and  after  their  approval  by  the 
states  had  become  a  thing  assured,  he  still  looked 
askance  at  the  administration,  and  particularly  at  some 
of  the  financial  measures  proposed  by  Hamilton.1 
Nevertheless,  as  year  by  year  went  on,  and  as  Wash 
ington  and  his  associates  continued  to  deal  fairly,  wisely, 
and,  on  the  whole,  successfully,  with  the  enormous  prob 
lems  which  they  encountered  ;  moreover,  as  Jefferson 
and  Madison  gradually  drew  off  from  Washington,  and 
formed  a  party  in  opposition,  which  seemed  to  connive 
at  the  proceedings  of  Genet,  and  to  encourage  the 
formation  among  us  of  political  clubs  in  apparent  sym 
pathy  with  the  wildest  and  most  anarchic  doctrines 
which  were  then  flung  into  words  and  into  deeds  in  the 
streets  of  Paris,  it  happened  that  Patrick  Henry  found 
himself,  like  Richard  Henry  Lee,  and  many  another  of 
his  companions  in  the  old  struggle  against  the  constitu 
tion,  drawn  more  and  more  into  support  of  the  new 
government. 

In  this  frame  of  mind,  probably,  was  he  in  the  spring 
of  1793,  when,  during  the  session  of  the  federal  court 

1  For  example,  D.  Stuart's  letter,  in  Writings  of  Washington,  x. 
M-96  ;  also,  Jour.  Vn.  House  Dd.  for  Nov.  3,  1790. 


IN  RETIREMENT.  855 

at  Richmond,  he  had  frequent  conversations  with  Chief 
Justice  Jay  and  with  Judge  Iredell.  The  latter,  having 
never  before  met  Henry,  had  felt  great  dislike  of  him 
on  account  of  the  alleged  violence  of  his  opinions 
against  the  constitution  ;  but  after  making  his  acquaint 
ance,  Iredell  thus  wrote  concerning  him  :  "  I  never  was 
more  agreeably  disappointed  than  in  my  acquaintance 
with  him.  I  have  been  much  in  his  company  ;  and  his 
manners  are  very  pleasing,  and  his  mind,  I  am  per 
suaded,  highly  liberal.  It  is  a  strong  additional  reason 
I  have,  added  to  many  others,  to  hold  in  high  detesta 
tion  violent  party  prejudice."  l 

In  the  following  year,  General  Henry  Lee,  then 
governor  of  Virginia,  appointed  Patrick  Henry  as  a 
senator  of  the  United  States,  to  fill  out  an  unexpired 
term.  This  honor  he  felt  compelled  to  decline. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  year,  General  Lee,  finding 
that  Patrick  Henry,  though  in  virtual  sympathy  with 
the  administration,  was  yet  under  the  impression  that 
Washington  had  cast  off  their  old  friendship,  deter 
mined  to  act  the  part  of  a  peace-maker  between  them, 
and,  if  possible,  bring  together  once  more  two  old 
friends  who  had  been  parted  by  political  differences 
that  no  longer  existed.  On  the  17th  of  August,  1794, 
Lee,  at  Richmond,  thus  wrote  to  the  president :  "  When 
I  saw  you  in  Philadelphia,  I  had  many  conversations 
with  you  respecting  Mr.  Henry,  and  since  my  return  I 
have  talked  very  freely  and  confidentially  with  that 
gentleman.  I  plainly  perceive  that  he  has  credited 
some  information,  which  he  has  received  (from  whom 
I  know  not),  which  induces  him  to  believe  that  you 
consider  him.  a  factious,  seditious  character.  .  .  .  As- 
1  McRee,  Life  of  Iredell,  ii.  394-395. 


356  PATRICK  HENRY. 

sured  in  ray  own  mind  that  his  opinions  are  ground 
less,  I  have  uniformly  combated  them,  and  lament  that 
my  endeavors  have  been  unavailing.  He  seems  to  be 
deeply  and  sorely  affected.  It  is  very  much  to  be  re 
gretted  ;  for  he  is  a  man  of  positive  virtue  as  well  as  of 
transcendent  talents  ;  and  were  it  not  for  his  feelings 
above  expressed,  I  verily  believe,  he  would  be  found 
among  the  most  active  supporters  of  your  administra 
tion.  Excuse  me  for  mentioning  this  matter  to  you. 
I  have  long  wished  to  do  it,  in  the  hope  that  it  would 
lead  to  a  refutation  of  the  sentiments  entertained  by 
Mr.  Henry."  * 

To  this  letter,  Washington  sent  a  reply  which  ex 
pressed  unabated  regard  for  his  old  friend  ;  and  this 
reply,  having  been  shown  by  Lee  to  Henry,  drew  from 
him  this  noble-minded  answer : 

TO    GENERAL    HENRY    LEE. 

"RED  HILL,  27  June,  1795. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  very  friendly  communication 
of  so  much  of  the  president's  letter  as  relates  to  me, 
demands  my  sincere  thanks.  Retired  as  1  am  from  the 
busy  world,  it  is  still  grateful  to  me  to  know  that 
some  portion  of  regard  remains  for  me  amongst  my 
countrymen  ;  especially  those  of  them  whose  opinions 
1  most  value.  But  the  esteem  of  that  personage,  who 
is  contemplated  in  this  correspondence,  is  highly  flatter 
ing  indeed. 

"  The  American  revolution  was  the  grand  operation, 
which  seemed  to  be  assigned  by  the  Deity  to  the  men 
of  this  age  in  our  country,  over  and  above  the  common 
l  Writings  of  Washington,  x.  560-561. 


IN  RETIREMENT.  357 

duties  of  life.  I  ever  prized  at  a  high  rate  the  superior 
privilege  of  being  one  in  that  chosen  age,  to  which 
Providence  intrusted  its  favorite  work.  With  this  im 
pression,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  resist  the  impulse 
I  felt  to  contribute  my  mite  towards  accomplishing 
that  event,  which  in  future  will  give  a  superior  aspect 
to  the  men  of  these  times.  To  the  man,  especially, 
who  led  our  armies,  will  that  aspect  belong ;  and  it  is 
not  in  nature  for  one  with  my  feelings  to  revere  the 
revolution,  without  including  him  who  stood  foremost 
in  its  establishment. 

"  Every  insinuation  that  taught  me  to  believe  I  had 
forfeited  the  good  will  of  that  personage,  to  whom  the 
world  had  agreed  to  ascribe  the  appellation  of  good  and 
great,  must  needs  give  me  pain  ;  particularly  as  he  had 
opportunities  of  knowing  my  character  both  in  public 
and  in  private  life.  The  intimation  now  given  me,  that 
there  was  no  ground  to  believe  I  had  incurred  his  cen 
sure,  gives  very  great  pleasure. 

"  Since  the  adoption  of  the  present  constitution,  I  have 
generally  moved  in  a  narrow  circle.  But  in  that  I  have 
never  omitted  to  inculcate  a  strict  adherence  to  the 
principles  of  it.  And  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  think, 
that  in  no  part  of  the  union  have  the  laws  been  more 
pointedly  obeyed,  than  in  that  where  I  have  resided  and 
spent  my  time.  Projects,  indeed,  of  a  contrary  ten 
dency  have  been  hinted  to  me  ;  but  the  treatment  of 
the  projectors  has  been  such  as  to  prevent  all  inter 
course  with  them  for  a  long  time.  Although  a  democrat 
myself,  I  like  not  the  late  democratic  societies.  As  lit 
tle  do  I  like  their  suppression  by  law.  Silly  things  may 
amuse  for  awhile,  but  in  a  little  time  men  will  perceive 
their  delusions.  The  way  to  preserve  in  men's  minds  a 
value  for  them,  is  to  enact  laws  against  them. 


358  PATRICK  HENRY. 

"  My  present  views  are  to  spend  my  days  in  privacy. 
If,  however,  it  shall  please  God,  during  my  life,  so  to 
order  the  course  of  events  as  to  render  my  feeble  efforts 
necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  country,  in  any,  even  the 
smallest  degree,  that  little  which  I  can  do  shall  be  done. 
Whenever  you  may  have  an  opportunity,  I  shall  be 
much  obliged  by  your  presenting  my  best  respects  and 
duty  to  the  president,  assuring  him  of  my  gratitude  for 
his  favorable  sentiments  towards  me. 

"  Be  assured,  my  dear  sir,  of  the  esteem  and  regard 
with  which  I  am  yours,  etc. 

"  PATRICK  HENRY."  l 

After  seeing  this  letter,  Washington  took  an  oppor 
tunity  to  convey  to  Patrick  Henry  a  strong  practical 
proof  of  his  confidence  in  him,  and  of  his  cordial  friend 
ship.  The  office  of  secretary  of  state  having  become 
vacant,  Washington  thus  tendered  the  place  to  Patrick 
Henry  :  — 

"  MOUNT  VERNON,  9  October,  1795. 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  Whatever  may  be  the  reception  of  this 
letter,  truth  and  candor  shall  mark  its  steps.  You 
doubtless  know  that  the  office  of  state  is  vacant ;  and 
no  one  can  be  more  sensible  than  yourself,  of  the  im 
portance  of  filling  it  with  a  person  of  abilities,  and  one 
in  whom  the  public  would  have  confidence. 

"It  would  be  uncandid  not  to  inform  you,  that  this  of 
fice  has  been  offered  to  others  ;  but  it  is  as  true,  that  it 
was  from  a  conviction  in  my  own  mind  that  you  would 
not  accept  it  (until  Tuesday  last,  in  a  conversation 
with  General  Lee,  he  dropped  sentiments  which  made 
it  less  doubtful),  that  it  was  not  offered  first  to  you. 

A   Writings  of  Washington,  x.  562-563. 


IN  RETIREMENT.  359 

"  I  need  scarcely  add,  that  if  this  appointment  could 
be  made  to  comport  with  your  own  inclination,  it  would 
be  as  pleasing  to  me,  as  I  believe  it  would  be  acceptable 
to  the  public.  With  this  assurance,  and  with  this  belief, 
I  make  you  the  offer  of  it.  My  first  wish  is  that  you 
would  accept  it ;  the  next  is  that  you  would  be  so  good 
as  to  give  me  an  answer  as  soon  as  you  conveniently 
can,  as  the  public  business  in  that  department  is  now 
suffering  for  want  of  a  secretary."  l 

Though  Patrick  Henry  declined  this  proposal,  he  de 
clined  it  for  reasons  that  did  not  shut  the  door  against 
further  overtures  of  a  similar  kind ;  for,  within  the 
next  three  months,  a  vacancy  having  occurred  in  an 
other  great  office,  —  that  of  chief  justice  of  the  United 
States,  —  Washington  again  employed  the  friendly  ser 
vices  of  General  Lee,  whom  he  authorized  to  offer  the 
place  to  Patrick  Henry.  This  was  done  by  Lee  in  a 
letter  dated  December  26,  1795 :  "  The  senate  have 
disagreed  to  the  president's  nomination  of  Mr.  Rutledge, 
and  a  vacancy  in  that  important  office  has  taken  place. 
For  your  country's  sake,  for  your  friends'  sake,  for 
your  family's  sake,  tell  me  you  will  obey  a  call  to  it. 
You  know  my  friendship  for  you ;  you  know  my  cir 
cumspection  ;  and,  I  trust,  you  know,  too,  I  would  not 
address  you  on  such  a  subject  without  good  grounds. 
Surely  no  situation  better  suits  you.  You  continue  at 
home,  only  [except]  when  on  duty.  Change  of  air  and 
exercise  will  add  to  your  days.  The  salary  excellent, 
and  the  honor  very  great.  Be  explicit  in  your  reply."  2 
On  the  same  day  on  which  Lee  thus  wrote  to  Henry, 
1  Writings  of  Washington,  xi.  81-82.  2  MS. 


360  PATRICK  HENRY. 

he  likewise  wrote  to  Washington,  informing  him  that 
he  had  done  so;  but  for  some  cause  now  unknown, 
Washington  received  no  further  word  from  Lee  1'or 
more  than  two  weeks.  Accordingly,  on  the  llth  of 
January,  1796,  in  his  anxiety  to  know  what  might  be 
Patrick  Henry's  decision  concerning  the  office  of  chief 
justice,  Washington  wrote  to  Lee  as  follows :  — 

"Mr  DEAR  SIR, — Your  letter  of  the  26th  ult.  has 
been  received,  but  nothing  from  you  since,  —  which  is 
embarrassing  in  the  extreme  ;  for  not  only  the  nomina 
tion  of  chief  justice,  but  an  associate  judge,  and  secre 
tary  of  war,  is  suspended  on  the  answer  you  were  to 
receive  from  Mr.  Henry  ;  and  what  renders  the  want 
of  it  more  to  be  regretted  is,  that  the  first  Monday  of 
next  month  (which  happens  on  the  first  day  of  it)  is 
the  term  appointed  by  law  for  the  meeting  of  the 
superior  court  of  the  United  States,  in  this  city;  at 
which,  for  particular  reasons,  the  bench  ought  to  be 
full.  I  will  add  no  more  at  present  than  that  I  am 
your  affectionate, 

"  GEO.  WASHINGTON."  1 

Although  Patrick  Henry  declined  this  great  compli 
ment,  also,  his  friendliness  to  the  administration  had 
become  so  well  understood  that,  among  the  Federal 
leaders,  who,  in  the  spring  of  1796,  were  planning  for 
the  succession  to  Washington  and  Adams,  there  was  a 
strong  inclination  to  nominate  Patrick  Henry  for  the 
vice-presidency,  —  their  chief  doubt  being  with  refer 
ence  to  his  willingness  to  take  the  nomination.2 

1  Lee,  Observations,  etc.,  116. 

2  Gibbs,   Administration  of   Washington,   etc.   i.   337  ;  see,  als«^ 
Hamilton,  Workt,  vi.  114. 


IN  RETIREMENT.  361 

All  these  overtures  to  Patrick  Henry  were  somewhat 
jealously  watched  by  Jefferson,  who,  indeed,  in  a  letter 
to  Monroe,  on  the  10th  of  July,  1796,  interpreted  them 
with  that  easy  recklessness  of  statement  which  so  fre 
quently  embellished  his  private  correspondence  and  his 
private  talk.  "  Most  assiduous  court,"  he  says,  of  the 
Federalists,  "  is  paid  to  Patrick  Henry.  He  has  been 
offered  everything  which  they  knew  he  would  not  ac 
cept."  l 

A  few  weeks  after  Jefferson  penned  those  sneering 
words,  the  person  thus  alluded  to  wrote  to  his  daugh 
ter,  Mrs.  Aylett,  concerning  certain  troublesome  reports 
which  had  reached  her :  "  As  to  the  reports  you  have 
heard,  of  my  changing  sides  in  politics,  I  can  only  say 
they  are  not  true.  I  am  too  old  to  exchange  my  former 
opinions,  which  have  grown  up  into  fixed  habits  of 
thinking.  True  it  is,  I  have  condemned  the  conduct 
of  our  members  in  congress,  because,  in  refusing  to  raise 
money  for  the  purposes  of  the  British  treaty,  they,  in 
effect,  would  have  surrendered  our  country  bound,  hand 
and  foot,  to  the  power  of  the  British  nation.  .  .  .  The 
treaty  is,  in  my  opinion,  a  very  bad  one  indeed.  But 
what  must  I  think  of  those  men,  whom  I  myself  warned 
of  fehe  danger  of  giving  the  power  of  making  laws  by 
means  of  treaty  to  the  president  and  senate,  when  I  see 
these  same  men  denying  the  existence  of  that  power, 
which,  they  insisted  in  our  convention,  ought  properly 
to  be  exercised  by  the  president  and  senate,  and  by  none 
other  ?  The  policy  of  these  men,  both  then  and  now, 
appears  to  me  quite  void  of  wisdom  arid  foresight. 
These  sentiments  I  did  mention  in  conversation  in  Rich 
mond,  and  perhaps  others  which  I  don't  remember.  .  .  . 
1  Jefferson,  Writings,  iv.  148. 


362  PATRICK  HENRY. 

It  seems  that  every  word  was  watched  which  I  casually 
dropped,  and  wrested  to  answer  party  views.  Who  can 
have  been  so  meanly  employed,  I  know  not,  neither  do 
I  care  ;  for  I  no  longer  consider  myself  as  an  actor  on 
the  stage  of  public  life.  It  is  time  for  me  to  retire  ; 
and  I  shall  never  more  appear  in  a  public  character, 
unless  some  unlooked-for  circumstance  shall  demand 
from  me  a  transient  effort,  not  inconsistent  with  private 
life  —  in  which  1  have  determined  to  continue."1 

In  the  autumn  of  1796,  the  assembly  of  Virginia, 
then  under  the  political  control  of  Jefferson,  and  appar 
ently  eager  to  compete  with  the  Federalists  for  the  pos 
session  of  a  great  Dame,  elected  Patrick  Henry  to  the 
governorship  of  the  state.  But  the  man  whose  purpose 
to  refuse  office  had  been  proof  against  the  attractions  of 
the  United  States  senate,  and  of  the  highest  place  in 
Washington's  cabinet,  and  of  the  highest  judicial  posi 
tion  in  the  country,  was  not  likely  to  succumb  to  the 
opportunity  of  being  governor  of  Virginia  for  the  sixth 
time. 

i  Entire  letter  in  Wirt,  385-387. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

LAST    DAYS. 

THE  intimation  given  by  Patrick  Henry  to  his  daugh 
ter,  in  the  summer  of  1796,  that,  though  he  could  never 
again  engage  in  a  public  career,  he  yet  might  be  com 
pelled  by  "  some  unlooked-for  circumstance  "  to  make 
<k  a  transient  effort "  for  the  public  safety,  was  not  put 
to  the  test  until  nearly  three  years  afterward,  when  it 
was  verified  in  the  midst  of  those  days  in  which  he  was 
suddenly  to  find  surcease  of  all  earthly  care  and  pain. 

Our  story,  therefore,  now  passes  hurriedly  by  the 
year  1797,  —  which  saw  the  entrance  of  John  Adams 
into  the  presidency,  the  return  of  Monroe  from  France 
in  great  anger  at  the  men  who  had  recalled  him,  the 
publication  of  Jefferson's  letter  to  Mazzei,  everywhere  an 
increasing  bitterness  and  even  violence  in  partisan  feel 
ing.  In  the  same  manner,  also,  must  we  pass  by  the 
year  1798,  —  which  saw  the  popular  uprising  against 
France,  the  mounting  of  the  black  cockade  against  her, 
the  suspension  of  commercial  intercourse  with  her,  the 
summons  to  Washington  to  come  forth  once  more  and 
lead  the  armies  of  America  against  the  enemy  ;  then  the 
moonstruck  madness  of  the  Federalists,  forcing  upon  the 
country  the  naturalization  act,  the  alien  acts,  the  sedition 
act ;  then,  the  Kentucky  resolutions,  as  written  by  Jeffer 
son,  declaring  the  acts  just  named  to  be  "  not  law,  but  ut 
terly  void  and  of  no  force,"  and  liable  "  unless  arrested 


364  PATRICK  HENRY. 

on  the  threshold,"  "  to  drive  these  states  into  revolution 
and  blood  ;  "  then,  the  Virginia  resolutions,  as  written 
by  Madison,  denouncing  the  same  acts  as  "  palpable 
and  alarming  infractions  of  the  constitution ; "  finally, 
the  preparations  secretly  making  by  the  government  of 
Virginia l  for  armed  resistance  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States. 

Just  seven  days  after  the  passage  of  the  Virginia 
resolutions,  an  eminent  citizen  of  that  state  appealed 
by  letter  to  Patrick  Henry  for  some  written  expression 
of  his  views  upon  the  troubled  situation,  with  the  im 
mediate  object  of  aiding  in  the  election  of  John  Mar 
shall,  who  having  just  before  returned  from  his  baffled 
embassy  to  Paris,  was  then  in  nomination  for  congress, 
and  was  encountering  assaults  directed  by  every  energy 
and  art  of  the  opposition.  In  response  to  this  appeal, 
Patrick  Henry  wrote,  in  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1799,  the  following  remarkable  letter,  which  is  of  deep 
interest  still,  not  only  as  showing  his  discernment  of  the 
true  nature  of  that  crisis,  but  as  furnishing  a  complete 
answer  to  the  taunt  that  his  mental  faculties  were  then 
fallen  into  decay  :  — 

TO    ARCHIBALD    BLAIR. 

"  RED  HILL,  CHARLOTTE,  8  January,  1799. 
"  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  favor  of  the  28th  of  last  month 
I  have   received.     Its   contents   are  a  fresh  proof  that 
there  is   cause   for  much  lamentation  over  the  present 
state  of  things  in  Virginia.     It  is  possible  that  most  of 
the  individuals  who  compose   the  contending   factions 
are  sincere,   and  act  from  honest   motives.     But  it  is 
more    than    probable,   that   certain   leaders  meditate  a 
1  Henry  Adams,  Life  ofj.  Randolph,  27-28. 


LAST  DAYS.  365 

change  in  government.  To  effect  this,  I  see  no  way  so 
practicable  as  dissolving  the  confederacy.  And  I  am 
free  to  own,  that,  in  my  judgment,  most  of  the  measures 
lately  pursued  by  the  opposition  party,  directly  and  cer 
tainly  lead  to  that  end.  If  this  is  not  the  system  of 
the  party,  they  have  none,  and  act  '  ex  tempore!' 

"  I  do  acknowledge  that  I  am  not  capable  to  form  a 
correct  judgment  on  the  present  politics  of  the  world. 
The  wide  extent  to  which  the  present  contentions  have 
gone  will  scarcely  permit  any  observer  to  see  enough 
in  detail  to  enable  him  to  form  anything  like  a  tolerable 
judgment  on  the  final  result,  as  it  may  respect  the  na 
tions  in  general.  But,  as  to  France,  I  have  no  doubt 
in  saying  that  to  her  it  will  be  calamitous.  Her  con 
duct  has  made  it  the  interest  of  the  great  family  of  man 
kind  to  wish  the  downfall  of  her  present  government ; 
because  its  existence  is  incompatible  with  that  of  all 
others  within  its  reach.  And,  whilst  I  see  the  dangers 
that  threaten  ours  from  her  intrigues  and  her  arms,  I 
am  not  so  much  alarmed  as  at  the  apprehension  of  her 
destroying  the  great  pillars  of  all  government  and  of 
social  life,  —  I  mean  virtue,  morality,  and  religion. 
This  is  the  armor,  my  friend,  and  this  alone,  that  ren 
ders  us  invincible.  These  are  the  tactics  we  should 
study.  If  we  lose  these,  we  are  conquered,  fallen  in 
deed.  In  vain  may  France  show  and  vaunt  her  diplo 
matic  skill,  and  brave  troops :  so  long  as  our  manners 
and  principles  remain  sound,  there  is  no  danger.  But 
believing,  as  I  do,  that  these  are  in  danger,  that  infi 
delity  in  its  broadest  sense,  under  the  name  of  phi 
losophy,  is  fast  spreading,  and  that,  under  the  patron 
age  of  French  manners  and  principles,  everything  that 
ought  to  be  dear  to  man  is  covertly  but  successfully 


366  PATRICK  HENRY. 

assailed,  I  feel  the  value  of  those  men  amongst  us,  who 
hold  out  to  the  world  the  idea,  that  our  continent  is  to 
exhibit  au  originality  of  character  ;  and  that,  instead  of 
that  imitation  and  inferiority  which  the  countries  of  the 
old  world  have  been  in  the  habit  of  exacting  from  the 
new,  we-  shall  maintain  that  high  ground  upon  which 
nature  has  placed  us,  and  that  Europe  will  alike  cease 
to  rule  us  and  give  us  modes  of  thinking. 

"  But  I  must  stop  short,  or  else  this  letter  will  be  all 
preface.  These  prefatory  remarks,  however,  I  thought 
proper  to  make,  as  they  point  out  the  kind  of  character 
amongst  our  countrymen  most  estimable  in  my  eyes. 
General  Marshall  and  his  colleagues  exhibited  the 
American  character  as  respectable.  France,  in  the 
period  of  her  most  triumphant  fortune,  beheld  them  as 
unappalled.  Her  threats  left  them,  as  she  found  them, 
mild,  temperate,  firm.  Can  it  be  thought  that,  with 
these  sentiments,  I  should  utter  anything  tending  to 
prejudice  General  Marshall's  election  ?  Very  far  from 
it,  indeed.  Independently  of  the  high  gratification  I 
felt  from  his  public  ministry,  he  ever  stood  high  in  my 
esteem  as  a  private  citizen.  His  temper  and  disposition 
were  always  pleasant,  his  talents  and  integrity  unques 
tioned.  These  things  are  sufficient  to  place  that  gentle 
man  far  above  any  competitor  in  the  district  for  con 
gress.  But,  when  you  add  the  particular  information 
and  insight  which  he  has  gained,  and  is  able  to  commu 
nicate  to  our  public  councils,  it  is  really  astonishing  that 
even  blindness  itself  should  hesitate  in  the  choice.  .  .  . 
Tell  Marshall  I  love  him,  because  he  felt  and  acted  as 
a  republican,  as  an  American.  ...  I  am  too  old  and 
infirm  ever  again  to  undertake  public  concerns.  I  live 
much  retired,  amidst  a  multiplicity  of  blessings  from 


LAST  DAYS.  367 

that  Gracious  Ruler  of  all  things,  to  whom  I  owe  un 
ceasing  acknowledgments  for  his  unmerited  goodness  to 
me ;  and  if  I  was  permitted  to  add  to  the  catalogue 
one  other  blessing,  it  should  be,  that  my  countrymen 
should  learn  wisdom  and  virtue,  and  in  this  their  day  to 
know  the  things  that  pertain  to  their  peace.  Farewell. 
"  I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours, 

"  PATRICK  HENRY."  l 

The  appeal  from  Archibald  Blair,  which  evoked  this 
impressive  letter,  had  suggested  to  the  old  statesman 
no  effort  which  could  not  be  made  in  his  retirement. 
Before,  however,  he  was  to  pass  beyond  the  reach  of 
all  human  appeals,  two  others  were  to  be  addressed  to 
him,  the  one  by  John  Adams,  the  other  by  Washington, 
both  asking  him  to  come  forth  into  the  world  again,  the 
former  calling  for  his  help  in  averting  war  with  France, 
the  latter  for  his  help  in  averting  the  triumph  of  violent 
and  dangerous  counsels  at  home. 

On  the  25th  of  February,  1799,  John  Adams,  shak 
ing  himself  free  of  his  partisan  counsellors,  —  all  hot 
for  war  with  France,  —  suddenly  changed  the  course  of 
history,  by  sending  to  the  senate  the  names  of  these 
three  citizens,  Oliver  Ellsworth,  Patrick  Henry,  and 
William  Vans  Murray,  "  to  be  envoys  extraordinary 
and  ministers  plenipotentiary  to  the  French  republic, 
with  full  powers  to  discuss  and  settle,  by  a  treaty,  all 
controversies  between  the  United  States  and  France.'* 
In  his  letter  of  the  16th  of  April,  declining  the  appoint 
ment,  Patrick  Henry  spoke  of  himself  as  having  been 
"  confined  for  several  weeks  by  a  severe  indisposition," 
and  as  being  "  still  so  sick  as  to  be  scarcely  able  to  write 
i  Writings  of  Washington,  xi.  557-559. 


368  PATRICK  HENRY. 

this."  "  My  advanced  age,"  he  added,  "  and  increasing 
debility  compel  me  to  abandon  every  idea  of  serving 
my  country,  where  the  scene  of  operation  is  far  distant, 
and  her  interests  call  for  incessant  and  long  continued 
exertion.  ...  I  cannot,  however,  forbear  expressing, 
on  this  occasion,  the  high  sense  I  entertain  of  the  honor 
done  me  by  the  president  and  senate  in  the  appoint 
ment.  And  I  beg  you,  sir,  to  present  me  to  them  in 
terms  of  the  most  dutiful  regard,  assuring  them  that 
this  mark  of  their  confidence  in  me,  at  a  crisis  so  event 
ful,  is  an  agreeable  and  flattering  proof  of  their  con 
sideration  towards  me,  and  that  nothing  short  of  an 
absolute  necessity  could  induce  me  to  withhold  my  little 
aid  from  an  administration  whose  ability,  patriotism, 
and  virtue,  deserve  the  gratitude  and  reverence  of  all 
their  fellow-citizens."  l 

Such  was  John  Adams's  appeal  to  Patrick  Henry, 
and  its  result.  The  appeal  to  him  from  Washington  — 
an  appeal  which  he  could  not  resist,  and  which  induced 
him,  even  in  his  extreme  feebleness  of  body,  to  make 
one  last  and  noble  exertion  of  his  genius — happened  in 
this  wise.  On  the  15th  of  January,  1799,  from  Mount 
Vernon,  Washington  wrote  to  his  friend  a  long  letter, 
marked  "  confidential,"  in  which  he  stated  with  great 
frankness  his  own  anxieties  respecting  the  dangers  then 
threatening  the  country  \  "  It  would  be  a  waste  of  time 
to  attempt  to  bring  to  the  view  of  a  person  of  your 
observation  and  discernment,  the  endeavors  of  a  certain 
party  among  us  to  disquiet  the  public  mind  with  un 
founded  alarms ;  to  arraign  every  act  of  the  administra 
tion  ;  to  set  the  people  at  variance  with  their  govern 
ment;  and  to  embarrass  all  its  measures.  Equally 
i  Work*  oj  John  Adams,  ix.  162;  viii.  641-642. 


LAST  DATS.  369 

useless  would  it  be  to  predict  what  must  be  the  inevi 
table  consequences  of  such  a  policy,  if  it  cannot  be  ar 
rested. 

"  Unfortunately,  — and  extremely  do  I  regret  it,  —  the 
state  of  Virginia  has  taken  the  lead  in  this  opposition.J 
...  It  has  been  said  that  the  great  mass  of  the  citizens 
of  this  state  are  well-affected,  notwithstanding,  to  the 
general  government  and  the  union ;  and  I  am  willing  to 
believe  it,  nay,  do  believe  it.  But  how  is  this  to  be 
reconciled  with  their  suffrages  at  the  elections  of  repre 
sentatives,  .  .  .  who  are  men  opposed  to  the  former, 
and  by  the  tendency  of  their  measures  would  destroy 
the  latter  ?  .  .  .  One  of  the  reasons  assigned  is,  that 
the  most  respectable  and  best  qualified  characters  among 
us  will  not  come  forward.  .  .  .£But,  at  such  a  crisis  as 
this,  when  everything  dear  and  valuable  to  us  is  as 
sailed  ;  when  this  party  hangs  upon  the  wheels  of  gov 
ernment  as  a  dead  weight,  opposing  every  measure  that 
is  calculated  for  defence  and  self-preservation,  abetting 
the  nefarious  views  of  another  nation  upon  our  rights ; 
.  .  .  when  measures  are  systematically  and  pertina 
ciously  pursued,  which  must  eventually  dissolve  the 
union,  or  produce  coercion ;  I  say,  when  these  things 
have  become  so  obvious,  ought  characters  who  are  best 
able  to  rescue  their  country  from  the  pending  evil,  to 
remain  at  home  ?J Rather  ought  they  not  to  come  for 
ward,  and  by  their  talents  and  influence  stand  in  the 
breach  which  such  conduct  has  made  on  the  peace  and 
happiness  of  this  country,  and  oppose  the  widening  of 
it?  ... 

"I  come,  now,  my  good  Sir,  to  the  object  of  my 
letter,  which  is  to  express  a  hope  and  an  earnest  wish, 
that  you  will  come  forward  at  the  ensuing  elections  (if 


370  PATRICK  HENRY. 

not  for  congress,  which  you  may  think  would  take  you 
too  long  from  home),  as  a  candidate  for  representative 
in  the  general  assembly  of  this  commonwealth. 

*•  There  are,  I  have  no  doubt,  very  many  sensible  men 
who  oppose  themselves  to  the  torrent  that  carries  away 
others  who  had  rather  swim  with,  than  stem  it  without 
an  able  pilot  to  conduct  them  ;  but  these  are  neither  old 
in  legislation,  nor  well  known  in  the  community.  Your 
weight  of  character  and  influence  in  the  house  of  repre 
sentatives  would  be  a  bulwark  against  such  dano-erous 

o  & 

sentiments  as  are  delivered  there  at  present.  It  would 
be  a  rallying  point  for  the  timid,  and  an  attraction  of 
the  wavering.  In  a  word,  I  conceive  it  to  be  of  im 
mense  importance  at  this  crisis,  that  you  should  be 
there  ;  and  I  would  fain  hope  that  all  minor  considera 
tions  will  be  made  to  yield  to  the  measure."  l 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  was  this  solemn  in 
vocation  on  the  part  of  Washington,  which  induced  the 
old  statesman,  on  whom  Death  had  already  begun  to 
lay  his  icy  hands,  to  come  forth  from  the  solitude  in 
which  he  had  been  so  long  buried,  and  offer  himself  for 
the  suffrages  of  his  neighbors,  as  their  representative  in 
the  next  house  of  delegates,  there  to  give  check,  if  pos 
sible,  to  the  men  who  seemed  to  be  hurrying  Virginia 
upon  violent  courses,  and  the  republic  into  civil  war. 
Accordingly,  before  the  day  for  the  usual  March  2  court 
in  Charlotte,  the  word  went  out  through  all  that  coun 
try  that  old  Patrick  Henry,  whose  wondrous  voice  in 
public  no  man  had  heard  for  those  many  years,  who  had 
indeed  been  almost  numbered  among  the  dead  ones  of 
their  heroic  days  foregone,  was  to  appear  before  all  the 

1  Writings  of  Washington,  xi.  387-391. 

2  Garland,  Life  of  John  Randolph,  130. 


LAST  DAYS.  371 

people  once  more,  and  speak  to  them  as  in  the  former 
time,  and  give  to  them  his  counsel  amid  those  thicken 
ing  dangers  which  alone  could  have  drawn  him  forth 
from  the  very  borders  of  the  grave. 

When  the  morning  of  that  day  came,  from  all  the 
region  thereabout  the  people  began  to  stream  toward 
the  place  where  the  orator  was  to  speak.  So  wide 
spread  was  the  desire  to  hear  him  that  even  the  college 
in  the  next  county  —  the  college  of  Hampden-Sidney  — 
suspended  its  work  for  that  day,  and  thus  enabled  all  its 
members,  the  president  himself,  the  professors,  and  the 
students,  to  hurry  over  to  Charlotte  court-house.  One 
of  those  students,  John  Miller,  of  South  Carolina,  ac 
cording  to  an  account  said  to  have  been  given  by  him  in 
conversation  forty  years  afterward,  having  with  his  com 
panions  reached  the  town,  "  and  having  learned  that  the 
great  orator  would  speak  in  the  porch  of  a  tavern  front 
ing  the  large  court-green,  .  .  .  pushed  his  way  through 
the  gathering  crowd,  and  secured  the  pedestal  of  a  pillar 
where  he  stood  within  eight  feet  of  him.  He  was  very 
infirm,  and  seated  in  a  chair  conversing  with  some  old 
friends,  waiting  for  the  assembling  of  the  immense 
multitudes  who  were  pouring  in  from  all  the  surround 
ing  country  to  hear  him.  At  length  he  arose  with  diffi 
culty,  and  stood  somewhat  bowed  with  age  and  weak 
ness.  His  face  was  almost  colorless.  His  countenance 
was  careworn  ;  and  when  he  commenced  his  exordium, 
his  voice  was  slightly  cracked  and  tremulous.  But  in  a 
few  moments  a  wonderful  transformation  of  the  whole 
man  occurred,  as  he  warmed  with  his  theme.  He  stood 
erect ;  his  eye  beamed  with  a  light  that  was  almost 
supernatural ;  his  features  glowed  with  the  hue  and  fire 
of  youth ;  and  his  voice  rang  clear  and  melodious  with 


S72  PATRICK  HENRY. 

the  intonations  of  some  grand  musical  instrument  whose 
notes  filled  the  area,  and  fell  distinctly  and  delightfully 
upon  the  ears  of  the  most  distant  of  the  thousands  gath 
ered  before  him."  * 

As  regards  the  substance  of  the  speech  then  made,  it 
will  not  be  safe  for  us  to  confide  very  much  in  the  sup 
posed  recollections  of  old  men  who  heard  it  when  they 
were  young.  Upon  the  whole,  probably,  the  most  trust 
worthy  outline  of  it  now  to  be  had  is  that  of  a  gentleman 
who  declares  that  he  wrote  down  his  recollections  of  the 
speech  not  long  after  its  delivery.  According  to  this  ac 
count,  Patrick  Henry  J^ told  them  that  the  late  proceed 
ings  of  the  Virginian  assembly  had  filled  him  with  appre 
hensions  and  alarm ;  that  they  had  planted  thorns  upon 
his  pillow  ;  that  they  had  drawn  him  from  that  happy  re 
tirement  which  it  had  pleased  a  bountiful  Providence  to 
bestow,  and  in  which  he  had  hoped  to  pass,  in  quiet,  the 
remainder  of  his  days  ;  that  the  state  had  quitted  the 
sphere  in  which  she  had  been  placed  by  the  constitution, 
and,  in  daring  to  pronounce  upon  the  validity  of  federal 
laws,  had  gone  out  of  her  jurisdiction  in  a  manner  not 
warranted  by  any  authority,  and  in  the  highest  degree 
alarming  to  every  considerate  man  ;  that  such  opposi 
tion,  on  the  part  of  Virginia,  to  the  acts  of  the  general 
government,  must  beget  their  enforcement  by  military 
power;  that  this  would  probably  produce  civil  war, 
civil  war  foreign  alliances,  and  that  foreign  alliances 
must  necessarily  end  in  subjugation  to  the  powers  called 
in.  He  conjured  the  people  to  pause  and  consider  well, 
before  they  rushed  into  such  a  desperate  condition,  from 
which  there  could  be  no  retreat.7  He  painted  to  their 
imaginations  Washington,  at  the  head  of  a  numerous 
i  Fontaine,  MS. 


LAST  DAYS.  378 

and  well-appointed  army,  inflicting  upon  them  military 
execution.  '  And  where,'  he  asked,  4  are  our  resources 
to  meet  such  a  conflict  ?  Where  is  the  citizen  of 
America  who  will  dare  to  lift  his  hand  against  the 
father  of  his  country  ? '  A  drunken  man  in  the  crowd 
threw  up  his  arm,  and  exclaimed  that  he  dared  to  do 
it.  '  No,'  answered  Mr.  Henry,  rising  aloft  in  all  his 
majesty,  'you  dare  not  do  it:  in  such  a  parricidal  at 
tempt,  the  steel  would  drop  from  your  nerveless  arm  ! ' 
.  .  .  Mr.  Henry,  proceeding  in  his  address  to  the 
people,  asked,  whether  the  county  of  Charlotte  would 
have  any  authority  to  dispute  an  obedience  to  the  laws 
of  Virginia ;  and  he  pronounced  Virginia  to  be  to  the 
union,  what  the  county  of  Charlotte  was  to  her.  Hav 
ing  denied  the  right  of  a  state  to  decide  upon  the  con 
stitutionality  of  federal  laws,  he  added,  that  perhaps  it 
might  be  necessary  to  say  something  of  the  merits  of 
the  laws  in  question.1  His  private  opinion  was  that 
they  were  good  and  proper.  But  whatever  might  be 
their  merits,  it  belonged  to  the  people,  who  held  the 
reins  over  the  head  of  congress,  and  to  them  alone,  to 
say  whether  they  were  acceptable  or  otherwise,  to  Vir 
ginians  ;  and  that  this  must  be  done  by  way  of  petition ; 
that  congress  were  as  much  our  representatives  as  the 
assembly,  and  had  as  good  a  right  to  our  confidence. 
He  had  seen  with  regret  the  unlimited  power  over  the 
purse  and  sword  consigned  to  the  general  government ; 
but  ...  he  had  been  overruled,  and  it  was  now  neces 
sary  to  submit  to  the  constitutional  exercise  of  that 
power.  *  If,'  said  he,  '  I  am  asked  what  is  to  be  done, 
when  a  people  feel  themselves  intolerably  oppressed, 
my  answer  is  ready,  —  Overturn  the  government.  But 
1  The  alien  and  sedition  acts. 


374  PATRICK   HENRY. 

do  not,  I  beseech  you,  carry  matters  to  this  length  with 
out  provocation.  Wait  at  least  until  some  infringement 
is  made  upon  your  rights,  and  which  cannot  otherwise 
be  redressed ;  for  if  sver  you  recur  to  another  change, 
you  may  bid  adieu  forever  to  representative  govern 
ment.  You  can  never  exchange  the  present  govern 
ment  but  for  a  monarchy.  .  .  .  Let  us  preserve  our 
strength  for  the  French,  the  English,  the  Germans,  or 
whoever  else  shall  dare  to  invade  our  territory,  and  not 
exhaust  it  in  civil  commotions  and  intestine  wars.'  He 
concluded  by  declaring  his  design  to  exert  himself  in 
the  endeavor  to  allay  the  heart-burnings  and  jealousies 
which  had  been  fomented  in  the  state  legislature ;  and 
he  fervently  prayed,  if  he  was  deemed  unworthy  to  ef 
fect  it,  that  it  might  be  reserved  to  some  other  and  abler 
hand,  to  extend  this  blessing  over  the  community." l 

The  outline  thus  given  may  be  inaccurate  in  several 
particulars  :  it  is  known  to  be  so  in  one.  Respecting 
the  alien  and  sedition  acts,  the  orator  expressed  no 
opinion  at  all ; 2  but  accepting  them  as  the  law  of  the 
laud,  he  counselled  moderation,  forbearance,  and  the  use 
of  constitutional  means  of  redress.  Than  that  whole 
effort,  as  has  been  said  by  a  recent  and  a  sagacious  histo 
rian,  "  nothing  in  his  life  was  nobler."  8 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  old  man's  speech  the 
stand  was  taken  by  a  very  young  man,  John  Randolph, 
of  Roanoke,  who  undertook  to  address  the  crowd,  offer 
ing  himself  to  them  as  a  candidate  for  congress,  but  on 
behalf  of  the  party  then  opposed  to  Patrick  Henry. 
By  reason  of  weariness,  no  doubt,  the  latter  did  not  re 
main  upon  the  platform  ;  but  having  "  requested  a  friend 

i  Wirt,  393-395.  2  Hist.  Mag.  for  1873,  353. 

*  Heury  Adams,  John  JRuiidolph,  29. 


LAST  DAYS.  375 

to  report  to  him  anything  which  might  require  an 
answer,"  he  stepped  back  into  the  tavern.  "  Randolph 
began  by  saying  that  he  had  admired  that  man  more 
than  any  on  whom  the  sun  had  shone,  but  that  now 
lie  was  constrained  to  differ  from  him  '  toto  ccelo.'  " 
Whatever  else  Randolph  may  have  said  in  his  speech, 
whether  important  or  otherwise,  was  spoken  under  the 
disadvantage  of  a  cold  and  a  hoarseness  so  severe  as 
to  render  him  scarcely  able  to  "  utter  an  audible  sen 
tence."  Furthermore,  Patrick  Henry  "  made  no  reply, 
nor  did  he  again  present  himself  to  the  people."  * 
There  is.  however,  a  tradition,  not  improbable,  that 
when  Randolph  had  finished  his  speech,  and  had  come 
back  into  the  room  where  the  aged  statesman  was  rest 
ing,  the  latter,  taking  him  gently  by  the  hand,  said  to 
him,  with  great  kindness  :  "  Young  man,  you  call  me* 
father.  Then,  my  son,  I  have  something  to  say  unto 
thee  :  keep  justice,  keep  truth,  —  and  you  will  live  to 
think  differently." 

As  a  result  of  the  poll,  Patrick  Henry  was,  by  a 
great  majority,  elected  to  the  house  of  delegates.  But 
his  political  enemies,  who,  for  sufficient  reasons,  greatly 
dreaded  his  appearance  upon  that  scene  of  his  ancient 
domination,  were  never  any  more  to  be  embarrassed  by 
his  presence  there.  For,  truly,  they  who,  on  that  March 
day,  at  Charlotte  court-house,  had  heard  Patrick  Henry, 
"  had  heard  an  immortal  orator  who  would  never  speak 

1  J.  W.  Alexander,  Life  of  A.  Alexander,  188-189  About  this 
whole  scene  have  gathered  many  myths,  of  which  several  first  ap 
peared  in  a  Life  of  Henry,  in  the  New  Edinb.  Encycl.,  1817  ;  were 
thence  copied  into  Howe,  Hist.  Coll.  Va.,  224-225  ;  and  have  thence 
been  engulfed  in  that  rich  mass  of  unwhippcd  hyperboles  and  of  un- 
exploded  fables  still  patriotically  swallowed  by  the  American  public 
as  American  history. 


376  PATRICK  HENRY. 

again."  *  He  seems  to  have  gone  thence  to  his  home, 
and  never  to  have  left  it.  About  the  middle  of  the  next 
month,  being  too  sick  to  write  many  words,  he  lifted 
himself  up  in  bed  long  enough  to  tell  the  secretary  of 
state  that  he  could  not  go  on  the  mission  to  France,  and 
to  send  his  dying  blessing  to  his  old  friend,  the  president. 
Early  in  June,  his  eldest  daughter,  Martha  Fontaine, 
living  at  a  distance  of  two  days'  travel  from  Red  Hill, 
received  from  him  a  letter  beginning  with  these  words  : 
"  Dear  Patsy,  I  am  very  unwell,  and  have  Dr.  Cabell 
with  me."  2  Upon  this  alarming  news,  she  arid  others 
of  his  kindred  in  that  neighborhood  made  all  haste  to 
go  to  him.  On  arriving  at  Red  Hill,  "  they  found  him 
sitting  in  a  large,  old-fashioned  arm-chair,  in  which  he 
was  easier  than  upon  a  bed."  The  disease  of  which  he 
was  dying  was  intussusception.  On  the  6th  of  June,  all 
other  remedies  having  failed,  Dr.  Cabell  proceeded  to 
administer  to  him  a  dose  of  liquid  mercury.  Taking  the 
vial  in  his  hand,  and  looking  at  it  for  a  moment,  the 
dying  man  said  :  "  I  suppose,  doctor,  this  is  your  last  re 
sort."  The  doctor  replied :  "  I  am  sorry  to  say,  gov 
ernor,  that  it  is.  Acute  inflammation  of  the  intestine 
has  already  taken  place ;  and  unless  it  is  removed,  mor 
tification  will  ensue,  if  it  has  not  already  commenced, 
which  I  fear."  "  What  will  be  the  effect  of  this  medi 
cine  ?  "  —  said  the  old  man.  "  It  will  give  you  immedi 
ate  relief,  or  "  —  the  kind-hearted  doctor  could  not  fin 
ish  the  sentence.  His  patient  took  up  the  word  :  "  You 
mean,  doctor,  that  it  will  give  relief,  or  will  prove  fatal 
immediately  ?  "  The  doctor  answered  :  "  You  can  only 
live  a  very  short  time  without  it,  and  it  may  possibly  re 
lieve  you."  Then  Patrick  Henry  said,  "  Excuse  me, 
i  Henry  Adams.  2  Fontaine,  MS. 


LAST  DAYS.  377 

doctor,  for  a  few  minutes  ; "  and  drawing  down  over  his 
eyes  a  silken  cap  which  lie  usually  wore,  aud  still  hold 
ing  the  vial  in  his  hand,  he  prayed,  in  clear  words,  a 
simple  childlike  prayer,  for  his  family,  for  his  country, 
and  for  his  own  soul  then  in  the  presence  of  death. 
Afterward,  in  perfect  calmness,  he  swallowed  the  medi 
cine.  Meanwhile,  Dr.  Cabell,  who  greatly  loved  him, 
went  out  upon  the  lawn,  and  in  his  grief  threw  him 
self  down  upon  the  earth  under  one  of  the  trees,  weep 
ing  bitterly.  Soon,  when  he  had  sufficiently  mastered 
himself,  the  doctor  came  back  to  his  patient,  whom 
he  found  calmly  watching  the  congealing  of  the  blood 
under  his  Hnger-nails,  and  speaking  words  of  love  and 
peace  to  his  family,  who  were  weeping  around  his  chair. 
Among  other  things,  he  told  them  that  he  was  thankful 
for  that  goodness  of  God,  which,  having  blessed  him 
through  all  his  life,  was  then  permitting  him  to  die  with 
out  any  pain.  Finally,  fixing  his  eyes  with  much  ten 
derness  on  his  dear  friend,  Dr.  Cabell,  with  whom  he 
had  formerly  held  many  arguments  respecting  the 
Christian  religion,  he  asked  the  doctor  to  observe  how 
great  a  reality  and  benefit  that  religion  was  to  a  man 
about  to  die.  And  after  Patrick  Henry  had  spoken  to 
his  beloved  physician  these  few  words,  in  praise  of 
something  which,  having  never  failed  him  in  all  his 
life  before,  did  not  then  fail  him  in  his  very  last  need 
of  it,  he  continued  to  breathe  very  softly  for  some  mo 
ments  ;  after  which  they  who  were  looking  upon  him 
saw  that  his  life  had  departed. 


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BROUGHAM,  HENRY,  LORD,  The  Life  and  Times  of,  Written  by 
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CAMPBELL,  CHARLES,  History  of  the  Colony  and  Ancient  Domin 
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COOLEY,  THOMAS  M.     (See  Joseph  Story.) 

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CURTIS,  GEORGE  TICKNOR,  Life  of  Daniel  Webster.  New  York : 
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DE  COSTA,  B.  F.     (See  William  White.) 

DICKINSON,  JOHN,  The  Political  Writings  of.  2  vols.  Wilming 
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ELLIOT,  JONATHAN,  The  Debates  in  the  Several  State  Conven 
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EVERETT,  ALEXANDER  EL,  Life  of  Patrick  Henry.  In  Sparks' s 
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FROTHINGHAM,  RICHARD,  The  Rise  of  the  Republic  of  the  United 
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GALES,  JOSEPH,  The  Debates  and  Proceedings  in  the  Congres?  of 
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GALLATIN,  ALBERT.     (See  Henry  Adams.) 

GARLAND,  HUGH  A.,  The  life  of  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke. 
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GIRAKDIN,  Louis  HUE.     (See  John  Bnrk.) 

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JEFFERSON,  THOMAS,  Life  of.     (See  H.  S.  Randall.) 

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Ed.  by  Martha  J.  Lamb.  Vol  xi.  New  York :  1884. 

MAGRUDER,  ALLAN  B.,  John  Marshall.  (Am.  Statesmen  Se 
ries.)  Boston:  1885. 


382  LIST  OF  PRINTED  DOCUMENTS. 

MARSHALL,  JOHN,    The   Life  of   George   Washington     5  vols. 

Philadelphia:   1804-1 807. 
MARSHALL,  JOHN.     (See  Magruder,  Allan  B.) 
MAURY,    ANN,   Memoirs   of  a  Huguenot  Family.     New   York: 

1872. 

MEADE,  WILLIAM,  Old  Churches,  Ministers,  and  Families  of  Vir 
ginia.     2  vols.     Philadelphia :   1872. 
The    National    Portrait   Gallery   of     Distinguished   Americans, 

Conducted   by  James   B.  Longacre    and   James   Herring.     2d 

vol.     Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  London :   1835. 
Novanglus  and  Massachusettensis  ;  or,  Political  Essays  Published 

in  the  years  1774  and  1775.     Boston:   1819. 
PERRY,  WILLIAM  STEVENS,  Historical  Collections  relating  to  the 

American  Colonial  Church.     Vol.  i.  Virginia,   Hartford :  1870. 
PEYTON,  J.  LEWIS,  History  of  Augusta  County,  Virginia.   Staun- 

ton  :   1882. 
Prior  Documents.     A  Collection  of  Interesting,  Authentic  Papers, 

relative  to  the  Dispute  between  Great  Britain  and  America, 

Shewing  the  Causes  and  Progress    of    that  Misunderstanding 

from  170-1  to  1775.     (Almon.)     London  :   1777. 
The  Proceedings  of  the  Convention  of  Delegates  for  the  Counties 

and  Corporations  in  the  Colony  of  Virginia,  Held  at  Richmond 

Town,  in  the  County  of  Henrico,  on  the  20th  of  March,  1775. 

Richmond:   181(5. 
RANDALL,  HENRY  STEPHENS,  The  Life  of  Thomas  Jefferson.    3 

vols.     New  York:   1858. 

RANDOLPH,  JOHN.    (See  Adams,  Henry,  and  Garland,  Hugh  A.) 
REED,  WILLIAM  B.,  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Joseph  Reed. 

2  vols.     Philadelphia:   1847. 
RIVES,  WILLIAM  C.,  History  of  the  Life  and  Times  of  James 

Madison.     Boston :  Vol.  i.  2d  ed.    1873.    Vol.  ii.  1870.    Vol.  iii. 

1868. 
SLAUGHTER,    REV.    PHILIP,    A   History   of   St.   Mark's   Parish 

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SPARKS,  JARED.     (See  Corr.  Am.  Revolution,  and  Washington, 

Writings  of.) 
STORY,  JOSEPH,  Commentaries  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 

States.     E.I.  by  Thomas  M.  Cooley.     2  vols.     Boston  :   1873. 
TYLER,  LYON  G.,  The  Letters  and  Times  of  the  Tylers.     2  vola 

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LIST   OF  PRINTED   DOCUMENTS.  383 

The  Virginia  Historical  Register,  and  Literary  Note-Book.     Vol. 

iii.    Richmond  :   1850. 

Virginia  State  Papers,  Calendar  of.  Vol.  ii.  Richmond:  1881. 
WASHINGTON,  GEORGE,  The  Writings  of ;  Being  his  Correspond 
ence,  Addresses,  Messages,  and  Other  Papers,  Official  and 
Private  ;  Selected  and  Published  from  the  Original  Manuscripts, 
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by  Jared  Sparks.  12  vols.  Boston  and  New  York :  1834- 
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WASHINGTON,  GEORGE,  Life  of.     (See  John  Marshall.) 
WASHINGTON,  H.  A.     (See  Jefferson,  Thomas,  Writings  of.) 
WEBSTER,  DANIEL,  Life  of.     (See  Geo.  Ticknor  Curtis.) 
WELLS,  WILLIAM  V.,  The   life  and  Public  Services  of   Samuel 

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WHITE,  WILLIAM,  Memoirs  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
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WIRT,  WILLIAM,  Sketches  of  the  Life  and  Character  of  Patrick 
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WIRT,  WILLIAM,  Life  of.     (See  Kennedy,  John  P.) 
WISE,  HENRY  A.,  Seven  Decades  of  the  Union.     Philadelphia: 
1872. 


INDEX. 


ADAMS,  John,  10,  90,  166,  216,  360  ; 
his  intimacy  with  Henry  in  1774, 11 ; 
mentions  Henry's  limited  knowl 
edge  of  Latin,  11  ;  his  recognition 
of  Henry's  early  fame,  78-79  ;  goes 
to  first  continental  congress,  90 ; 
describes  social  life  of  its  members, 
92-95;  speeches  in  this  congress, 
96,  98,  99;  his  memoranda  of 
proceedings  in  congress,  98-101  ; 
103,  104,  105;  describes  Henry's 
speeches,  98-100  ;  103  ;  on  commit 
tee  for  address  to  the  king,  104-105 
note;  his  impression  of  Henry  in 
congress,  109-110;  his  parting  in 
terview  with  Henry, 110-111 ;  reads 
Major  Hawley's  letter,  111;  his 
military  aspirations,  136  ;  in  second 
continental  congress,  152,  154;  de 
ference  for  the  example  of  Virginia, 
177;  his  "Thoughts  on  Govern 
ment,"  178 ;  Henry's  admiration 
for,  180;  letter  from  Henry,  181- 
182;  his  reply  to  Henry,  182-183; 
personal  and  political  harmony  with 
Henry,  353-354  ;  some  political 
events  of  his  presidency,  363-3G4  ; 
appoints  Henry  as  envoy  to  France, 
367  ;  his  administration  commended 
by  Henry,  368  ;  partisan  attacks  on 
his  administration,  369;  a  dying 
blessing  from  Henry,  376. 

Adams,  Samuel,  93, 166 ;  member  first 
continental  congress,  96  ;  in  second 
continental  congress,  152  ;  doubtful 
respecting  new  constitution,  294. 

Alexander,  Rev.  Archibald,  his  anal 
ysis  of  Henry's  genius  and  methods 
as  an  advocate,  329-330  ;  his  anec 
dotes  of  Henry's  eloquence  as  a 
criminal  lawyer,  330-335. 

Alsop,  John,  in  second  continental 
congress,  152,  153. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  invades  Virginia  in 
1781,  248. 

Atherton,  Joshua,  opposed  to  new 
constitution,  294. 

25 


Atkinson,  Roger,  describes  Virginia 
'delegates  in  first  continental  con 
gress,  90-91. 

Aylett,  Mrs.  Betsy,  letter  to,  from 
her  father,  Patrick  Henry,  361-362. 

Baker,  Counsellor,  precedes  Henry  in 
British  debt  cause,  322. 

Baptists  in  Virginia,  petition  for  re 
ligious  liberty  in  1776,  185  ;  rejoice 
over  election  of  Henry  as  governor, 
191-192 ;  Henry's  reply  to  their 
congratulations,  192-193. 

Bernard,  Sir  Francis,  governor  of 
Massachusetts,  describes  the  effect 
of  the  Virginia  resolves  against 
Stamp  Act,  73. 

Bill  of  rights,  necessity  for,  in  new 
constitution,  289-292 ;  Virginia's  de 
mand  for,  295. 

Blair,  Archibald,  Henry's  letter  to, 
on  the  political  condition  of  America 
and  France,  364-367. 

Blair,  John,  82 ;  in  Virginia  conven 
tion  of  1776,  187. 

Bland,  Richard,  84,  88 ;  on  commit 
tee  for  message  against  Stamp  Act, 
58  ;  opposes  Henry's  policy  on  the 
subject,  59,  63  ;  described  by  Atkin 
son,  91  ;  goes  to  first  continental 
congress,  94  ;  his  enthusiasm  there 
for,  94;  his  part  in  second  day's 
debate,  100 ;  opposes  Henry  in 
second  Virginia  convention,  121 ; 
on  important  committees  in  same 
convention,  134 ;  in  Virginia  con 
vention  of  1776,  168  ;  on  committee 
for  drafting  state  constitution,  177. 

Bland,  Theodorick,  opposed  to  new 
constitution,  285  ;  presents  to  con 
gress  Virginia's  appeal  for  a  new- 
convention,  315. 

Blood  worth,  Timothy,  opposed  to  new 
constitution,  294. 

Boston  port  bill,  news  of,  received  by 
Virginia,  86-87. 

Braxton,  Carter,  of  aristocratic  party 


38G 


INDEX. 


in  Virginia,  178  ;  recommends  pam 
phlet  in  favor  of  aristocratic  state 
governments,  179,  180,  182. 

British  debt  cause,  the  question  at 
issue,  320-321  ;  trials  of,  321-327. 

Brougham,  Lord,  kinsman  of  Patrick 
Henry,  3. 

Burk,  John  Daly,  historian  of  Vir 
ginia,  his  4th  vol.  written  by  Girar- 
din,  199. 

Burke,  JSdanus,  opposed  to  new  con 
stitution,  294. 

Butler,  Bishop  Joseph,  his  "  Analo 
gy "  Henry's  favorite  book,  17-18  ; 
349;  an  edition  of  the  "Analogy" 
published  by  Henry  for  private  dis 
tribution,  351. 

Byrd,  William,  of  Westover,  describes 
Sarah  Syme,  1-2. 

Cabell,  Dr.  ,  Patrick  Henry's 

friend  and  physician,  376-377. 

Campbell,  Alexander,  Henry's  asso 
ciate  in  British  debt  cause,  321. 

Carrington,  Clement,  son  of  Paul,  in 
forms  Grigsby  of  Henry's  real  mili 
tary  defect,  1G5. 

Carrington,  Edward,  letter  to  Jeffer 
son  concerning  Henry's  views  on 
new  constitution,  282. 

Carrington,  Paul,  walks  away  from 
Williamsburg  with  Henry,  66;  in 
Virginia  convention  of  1770,  and  on 
committee  for  drafting  state  con 
stitution,  177. 

Carter,  Charles,  of  Stafford,  in  second 
Virginia  convention,  134. 

Carter,  Landon,  on  committee  for 
message  against  Stamp  Act,  58 ;  dis 
parages  Virginia  convention  of 
1770, 168-109  ;  letter  to  Washington 
sneering  at  Henry,  190-197. 

Cary,  Archibald,  in  second  Virginia 
convention,  134 ;  in  Virginia  con 
vention  of  1776, 108  ;  on  committee 
to  draft  state  constitution,  177  ;  re 
ports  to  convention  plan  of  con 
stitution,  185  ;  his  violent  threat  to 
Henry  with  reference  to  alleged 
dictatorship,  200 ;  another  version 
of  his  remark,  207. 

Chase,  Samuel,  member  first  conti 
nental  congress,  % ;  his  impression 
of  Lee  and  Henry  as  legislators, 
105-106 ;  opposed  to  new  constitu 
tion,  294. 

Chatham,  Lord,  praises  papers  of  first 
continental  congress,  104 ;  death, 
213. 

Christian,  William,  on  committee  for 
arming  Virginia  militia,  134 ;  his 
flight  from  Tarletou,  251-252. 


Clapham,  Josias,  in  second  Virginia 
convention,  134. 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  his  expedition 
into  Illinois,  and  its  success,  229-231 ; 
235. 

Clergy  of  Virginia,  legislation  respect 
ing  their  salaries,  32-39 ;  their  law 
suits  for  recovery  of  salaries,  39-49. 

Clinton,  George,  opposed  to  new  con 
stitution,  294. 

Collier,  Sir  George,  his  expedition  into 
Virginia  with  Matthews  in  1779, 
229,  235-238. 

Congress,  first  continental,  demanded 
by  Virginia,  87-89 ;  its  leading  mem 
bers  described,  90-95 ;  social  life 
among  its  members,  92-95 ;  first 
meeting,  95-98 ;  first  discusses  ques 
tions  of  procedure,  90-101  ;  its  work 
from  Sept.  5  to  Oct.  26,  101-111 ; 
appoints  Charles  Thomson  secretary, 
95-97  ;  mode  of  voting,  95-101  ;  re 
jects  Galloway's  plan,  102-103  ;  its 
state  papers,  their  ability,  by  whom 
prepared,  104-105;  Wirt's  treat 
ment  of,  106-109  ;  its  intimation  as 
to  the  danger  of  war,  114 ;  second 
continental,  secrecy  in  its  proceed 
ings,  148,  151  ;  Henry's  deportment 
and  influence  in,  148-155 ;  great 
questions  before  it,  150-151  ;  its 
flight  from  Philadelphia  in  1770,  204. 

Constitution  of  United  States,  strug 
gle  in  Virginia  over  its  adoption, 
279-301 ;  Henry's  criticism  upon, 
285-2% ;  method  for  amendments, 
302-304  ;  struggle  to  secure  first  ten 
amendments,  304-317. 

Conway,  General  Thomas,  his  cabal  * 
for  the  displacement  of  Washington, 
215-223  ;  praised  in  anonymous  let 
ter  to  Henry,  217  ;  mentioned  by 
Washington  as  a  malignant  partisan, 
223. 

Cootes, ,  merchant  of  James  River, 

his  love  for  Henry,  and  his  lament 
over  Henry's  speech  in  the  Parsons' 
Cause,  52-53. 

Corbin,  Francis,  supports  Madison  in 
convention  of  1788,  285. 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  invades  Virginia  in 
1781, 248 ;  249 ;  his  surrender,  256. 

Cushing,  Thomas,  in  second  continen 
tal  congress,  153. 

Dandridge,  Bartholomew,  in  Virginia 

convention  of  1776, 187. 
Dandridge,  Dorothea,  second  wife  of 

Henry,  214. 

Dandridge,  Colonel  Nathan,  7. 
Dandridge,  Nathaniel  West,  contest* 

the  seat  of  Littlepage,  54. 


INDEX. 


387 


DawBon,  John,  supports  Henry  in  con 
vention  of  1788,  285. 

Deane,  Silas,  in  second  continental 
congress,  152,  153. 

Dickinson,  John,  member  of  first  con 
tinental  congress,  93  ;  enters  con 
gress  Oct.  17,  104 ;  prepares  final 
draft  of  address  to  the  king,  104 ; 
in  1774  expresses  expectation  of 
war,  114,  115. 

Dictatorship  in  Virginia,  project  for, 
in  1776,  197-208';  project  for,  in 
1781,  254-256. 

Digges,  Dudley,  in  Virginia  conven 
tion  of  1776,  168  ;  on  committee  for 
drafting  state  constitution,  177  ;  on 
committee  to  notify  Henry  of  his 
election  as  governor,  187. 

Dresser,  Rev.  Charles,  reports  testi 
mony  of  widow  of  Henry,  respecting 
the  latter's  religious  character  and 
habits,  349-350. 

Duane,  James,  member  first  con 
tinental  congress,  96 ;  moves  for 
committee  to  prepare  rules,  96  ;  in 
second  continental  congress,  152. 

Dunmore,  Lord,  119,  138,  145;  dis 
solves  house  of  burgesses,  May  26, 
1774,  86  ;  his  officers  pass  resolution 
for  defence  of  American  liberty, 
116 ;  describes  military  preparations 
in  Virginia,  117  ;  his  part  in  the 
affair  of  the  gunpowder,  138-143; 
issues  proclamation  against  Henry, 
143-144  ;  his  supposed  intention  to 
arrest  Henry,  147  ;  his  military  con 
duct  in  autumn  of  1775,  157-158  ; 
succeeded  in  the  palace  by  Henry, 
189. 

Ellsworth,  Oliver,  appointed  envoy  to 
France  in  1799,  367. 

Fauquier,  Governor  Francis,  de 
nounces  Henry  for  his  course  against 
Stamp  Act,  77. 

Fleming,  John,  a  confidential  associ 
ate  of  Henry  in  policy  against  Stamp 
Act,  61. 

Fontaine,  Edward,  132  ;  gives  Roane's 
description  of  Henry's  speech  for 
arming  militia,  129-132. 

Fontaine,  Mrs.  Martha,  last  letter 
from  her  father,  Patrick  Henry, 
376. 

Fontaine,  Colonel  Patrick  Henry, 
eldest  grandson  of  Henry,  14 ;  ex 
amined  by  his  grandfather  in  Latin 
and  Greek,  14 ;  mentions  his  grand 
father's  conversation  in  Latin  with 
a  French  visitor,  14 ;  describes  his 
grandfather's  preparation  for  Brit 


ish  debt  cause,  321-322  ;  testimony 
concerning  Henry's  habits  in  pri 
vate  life,  344-347 ;  also  concerning 
Henry's  religious  character  and 
habits,  348-350. 

Force,  Peter,  editor  of  American  Ar 
chives,  prints  some  official  letters  of 
Henry,  214  note. 

France,  American  alliance  with,  advo 
cated  by  Henry  as  preliminary  to 
declaration  of  independence,  171, 
175-176 ;  the  alliance  considered  by 
General  Charles  Lee,  172-173 ;  fidel 
ity  to,  insisted  upon  by  Henry,  227  ; 
copies  of  treaty  of  alliance  with, 
sent  to  Henry,  232  ;  its  effect  on  re 
ligious  thought  in  America  deplored 
by  Henry,  350;  Monroe  recalled 
from,  in  1797,  363;  American  ex 
citement  against,  in  1798,  363. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  in  second  conti 
nental  congress,  154. 

French  revolution,  its  influence  on 
Henry's  political  opinions,  353-354 ; 
some  disasters  from,  predicted  by 
Henry,  365. 

Gadsden,  Christopher,  of  South  Caro 
lina,  member  first  continental  con 
gress,  93,  96 ;  speaks  in  second  day's 
debate,  100;  in  second  continental 
congress,  154. 

Gage,  General  Thomas,  describes  the 
effects  of  the  Virginia  resolves 
against  Stamp  Act,  73. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  his  alleged  conversa 
tion  in  Latin  with  Henry,  15. 

Galloway,  Joseph,  member  of  first 
continental  congress,  96 ;  meets 
John  Adams,  94  ;  his  Plan  of  recon 
ciliation  with  Great  Britain,  102- 
103. 

Gates,  General  Horatio,  cabal  for  dis 
placement  of  Washington,  215 ;  ex 
tolled  in  anonymous  letter  to  Henry, 
217 ;  as  military  rival  of  Washing 
ton,  222-223  ;  tribute  from  Virginia 
in  1780,  247-248. 

Genet,  Edmoiid  Charles,  his  proceed 
ings  connived  at  by  democratic 
clubs,  354. 

Gerry,  Elbridge,  opposed  to  new  con 
stitution,  294;  founder  of  gerry 
mandering  in  Massachusetts,  312. 

Gerrymandering,  anticipated  in  Vir 
ginia  by  Henry,  313. 

Girardin,  Louis  Hue,  writes  4th  vol.  of 
Burk's  "History  of  Virginia,"  199; 
his  pupilage  to  Jefferson,  199; 
names  Henry  as  intended  dictator  in 
1776,  119  ;  names  Henry  in  connec 
tion  with  dictatorship  in  1781,  254. 


388 


INDEX. 


Gordon,  Rev.  William,  author  of 
"  History  of  American  Revolution," 
gives  account  of  the  first  publication 
of  Henry's  resolutions  against  Stamp 
Act,  71-72. 

Grayson,  William,  opposed  to  new 
constitution,  285;  elected  senator 
from  Virginia,  312. 

Greene,  General  Nathaniel,  beaten  by 
Coruwallis  at  Guildford,  248  ; 
named  for  dictator  in  Virginia,  255. 

Grigsby,  Hugh  Blair,  165;  describes 
as  apocryphal  Wirt's  version  of 
Henry's  speech  for  arming  militia, 
132;  his  estimate  of  Henry's  mili 
tary  character,  106. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  advocates  mag 
nanimous  treatment  of  the  defeated 
loyalists,  258;  letter  from  Madison 
resecting  Henry's  agitation  against 
new  constitution,  306 ;  his  financial 
measures  at  first  offensive  to  Henry, 
354. 

Hamilton,  Colonel  Henry,  as  governor 
of  Detroit,  231. 

Hancock,  John,  his  military  aspira 
tions,  135-136 ;  doubtful  respecting 
new  constitution,  294. 

Hardwicke,  Lord,  declares  Virginia 
option  law  invalid,  39. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  on  committee  for 
message  against  Stamp  Act,  58; 
member  of  first  continental  con 
gress,  88,  94;  his  convivialities 
there,  95 ;  opposes  Henry  in  second 
Virginia  convention,  121 ;  on  impor 
tant  committees  in  same  convention, 
134 ;  enters  Virginia  convention, 
155;  his  fiight  from  Tarleton,  251, 
252 ;  his  disapproval  of  new  consti 
tution,  284 ;  supports  Henry  in  con 
vention  of  1788,  285;  his  letter  to 
Washington  deprecating  new  consti 
tution,  287. 

Henry,  John,  father  of  Patrick  Henry, 
2 ;  his  education  and  character,  2 ; 
his  distinguished  Scotch  relatives, 
2-3. 

Henry,  The  Rev.  Patrick,  rector  of 
St.  Paul's,  Hanover,  uncle  of  the 
orator,  5 ;  teaches  his  nephew  Latin 
and  Greek,  5  ;  13,  14 ;  requested  to 
absent  himself  from  the  trial  of  the 
Parsons'  Cause,  51. 

Henry,  Patrick,  his  birth,  2  ;  paternal 
relatives,  2-3;  his  mother  described 
by  Byrd,  1-2 ;  his  education,  4-5 ; 
fails  in  trade,  5-6;  marries  Sarah 
Ski •  It nn,  6 ;  becomes  a  planter,  and 
fails,  5 ;  returns  to  merchandise,  and 
fails,  6-7  ;  his  embarrassments,  7-8 ; 


his  youthful  vivacity,  7  ;  first  ac 
quaintance  with  Jefferson,  7-8  ;  his 
alleged  illiteracy,  9-19;  hia_pxouu»- 
rhtinn,  0  10;  his  knowledge  of 
Latin  and  Greek,  11-15;  as  a  reader 
of  books,  10,  11;  17,  18;  hi*  com 
mand  of  language,  12-13  ;  his  char 
acteristics  as  a  youth,  16-18;  a  stu 
dent  of  Butler's  "Analogy"  and 
the  Bible,  17,  18;  his  qualifications 
for  the  law,  18,  19  ;  his  study  of  the 
law,  20  ;  hLj  examination  iur  admis 
sion  to  i  In-  Iur.  '2n-"23'";  returns  to 
Hanover  to  practise  law,  23-31  ; 
lives  at  his  father-in-law's  tavern, 
23  ;  his  early  practise  and  legal  at 
tainments  misrepresented  by  Jeffer 
son  and  Wirt,  24-29;  his  fondness 
for  hunting,  26-27  ; 


"the  Parsoua'  .  Cause,"  _4Q--49  ;   hi* 
apology  to  Maury,  49-5l7  his  rever 
ence   for  Christianity,  50  ;   his  gp-  , 
BJality.,   51-52;     his    popularity    in  . 
Virginia,  52-53;    his  speech  in  the  ! 
Parsons'   Cause   increases  his  law- 
practice,    53;    his_  speech.  _aL  JKil- 
liamtOiurg  in  the  case,  .of  Littlepage 
again.-t  Dandriilt'e,  54-55;  becomes 
member  of  the  house  of  burgesses 
for  Louisa  County,  55;    1Ua  .flrrt 
speech  there,  50-57  ;  his  resolutions* 
against  the  Stamp  Act  and  speeches  \ 
in  support  of  same,  SZrJJS  ;  his  neg 
lect  of  records  of  his  doing*,  09-70  ; 
takes  pains  to  record  his  authorship 
of  the  Stamp  Act  resolutions,  69- 
76;   his  course   against  the   Stamp 
Act  denounced   by  Gov.   Fauquier 
and  the  Rev.  W.  Robinson,  77-78; 
earliest  associations  with  his  name 
in  England,  78  ;  his  early  reputation 
in  Virginia  and  in  the  other  colonies,  / 
78-79;    takes  the  lead  of  political 
opinion   in  Virginia,  79  ;    settles  at  ^ 
Roundabout  and  at  Scotchtown,  81  ; 
law  practice  from  1705  to  1774,  81- 
84;  as  an  admiralty  lawyer,  82-83; 
takes  the  practice  of  R.  C.  Nicholas, 
83  ;   his  standing  at  the  bar,  S3-84  ; 
his  political  history  from   1705  to  / 
1774,  84-89  ;  as  a  political  leader  in  f 
Virginia,  87  ;  appointed  delegate  to 
first  continental  congress,  88;   his 
journey  to  first  continental  congress, 
90  ;  hj*  oratory  .heralded  by  his  as-  \ 
sociates,  90;  lii.s  character  described 
by  Roger  Atkinson,  90-01  ;  Charles 
Thomson's     account     of    his     first 
speech,  97  ;  John  Adaoua'A-accouut    . 
in  s.mn',  9y  :  hi.s  .speeches  on  second 
day,  99-lUl  ;    member  of  committee 
on  colonial  trade  and  manufacture, 


INDEX. 


389 


101 ;  share  in  debates  of  this  con 
gress,  101-103;  opposes  Galloway's 
plan,  102-103;  on  committee  for 
address  to  the  king,  104-105  ;  also 
on  committee  to  state  the  rights  oJ 
the  colonies,  105 ;  his  practical  abil 
ity,  105-106;  his  standing  in  this 
congress  misrepresented  by  Wirt 
and  Jefferson,  106-109 ;  first  speech 
described  by  Wirt,  106-107  ;  impres 
sion  made  on  associates  in  congress, 
109-110;  parting  interview  with  Join 
Adams,  110-111 ;  avoidance  of  pro 
fanity,  111 ;  his  mother's  allusion  to 
him  in  1774,  112 ;  fame  of  his  speech 
for  arming  Virginia  militia,  113; 
his  resolutions  for  that  purpose, 
118-119  ;  political  significance  of 
those  resolutions,  113-123;  Ma 
speech,-  123-128;  two  traditional 
descriptions  of  the  speech,  128- 
132 ;  authenticity  of  the  version 
here  given,  132-133;  chairman  of 
committee  for  arming  the  militia, 
133-134;  also  on  two  other  impor 
tant  committees  of  the  same  conven 
tion,  134  ;  his  early  military  reputa 
tion  overshadowed  by  his  fame  as 
orator  and  statesman,  137-138; 
commits  first  overt  act  of  war  in 
Virginia,  137 ;  rallies  militia  to  re 
claim  gunpowder  seized  by  Dun- 
more,  139-142  ;  his  receipt  for  pay 
ment  for  gunpowder,  142  ;  offers  to 
protect  the  colonial  treasury,  142- 
143 ;  is  denounced  by  proclamation 
of  Lord  Dunmore,  143-144;  his 
course  objected  to  by  many  conser 
vative  Virginians,  144-145 ;  sus 
tained  by  the  mass  of  the  people, 
145-146 ;  his  journey  to  the  second 
continental  congress,  147  ;  in  sec 
ond  continental  congress,  148-155; 
his  bearing  and  influence  therein, 
described  by  Jefferson,  148-149; 
criticism  upon  Jefferson's  testi 
mony,  149-154 ;  his  interest  in  the 
business  of  this  congress,  150-151  ,• 
his  activity  in  committee  work,  151- 
154 ;  his  letter  to  Washington  on 
last  day  of  the  session,  154 ;  returns 
to  Virginia  and  enters  convention, 
155  ;  turns  over  gunpowder  to  Vir 
ginia,  155 ;  is  thanked  by  Virginia 
for  his  services  in  congress,  155 ; 
appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the 
forces  in  Virginia,  155-156 ;  limits 
upon  his  authority,  156 ;  fixes  site 
of  military  headquarters,  156 ;  is 
restrained  by  committee  of  safety 
from  all  active  service  in  the  field, 
158-159  ;  resigns  his  military  ap- 


pointments,  159 ;  grief  and  indigna 
tion  of  his  officers  and  men,  159-162 ; 
his  military  capacity  distrusted  by 
some,  163-164 ;  his  real  fault  as  a 
military  man,  164-165 ;  his  military 
courage  and  enterprise,  165,  167  ; 
his  wife's  death,  167 ;  return  to 
civil  life,  167-168 ;  in  Virginia  con 
vention  of  1776, 168-188 ;  his  friends 
hostile  to  Pendleton,  169 ;  his  part 
in  committee  work  of  convention, 
169-170 ;  his  caution  respecting  in 
dependence,  171 ;  letter  on  the  sub 
ject  from  General  Charles  Lee,  172- 
173;  advocates  independence  with 
desire  for  prior  attainment  of  con 
federation  and  foreign  alliances, 
174-176  ;  writes  to  R.  H.  Lee  and  to 
John  Adams  on  the  subject,  175- 
176 ;  on  committee  to  prepare  new 
constitution  for  Virginia,  177  ;  fears 
aristocratic  tendencies  of  the  com 
mittee,  178-182 ;  explains  situation 
in  Virginia  to  R.  H.  Lee  and  J. 
Adams,  180-183;  letter  from  John 
Adams,  182-183;  writes  15th  and 
16th  articles  of  declaration  of  rights, 
183-185;  elected  first  governor  of 
state  of  Virginia,  186 ;  his  letter  of 
acceptance,  187-188  ;  takes  oath  of 
office,  189 ;  resides  in  the  palace  at 
Williamsburg,  189 ;  congratulations 
from  his  former  troops,  189-190 ; 
also  from  General  Charles  Lee,  190- 
191 ;  also  from  the  Baptists,  191- 
192  ;  his  reply  to  the  latter,  192-193; 
first  mention  of  ill  health,  193 ;  re 
moval  of  his  family  from  Hanover, 
193;  his  dignified  bearing  as  gov 
ernor,  194 ;  retires  to  the  country 
on  account  of  illness,  195;  advice 
from  Washington  respecting  mili 
tary  defence  of  Virginia,  195-196; 
sneered  at  by  Landon  Carter,  196- 
197  ;  the  project  for  a  dictatorship 
in  Virginia  for  1776, 197-208  ;  issues 
proclamation  for  more  vigorous 
measures,  208 ;  his  services  in  as 
sisting  General  Washington,  208- 
209  ;  sends  secret  messenger  to 
Washington's  camp,  209 ;  explains 
to  Washington  the  difficulty  of  rais 
ing  troops  in  Virginia,  210-211 ;  his 
letter  accepting  governorship  for 
the  second  time,  211-212 ;  chief 
public  occurrences  during  his  second 
year  as  governor,  213  ;  his  marriage 
to  Dorothea  Dandridge,  214;  the 
pressure  of  official  duties,  214 ;  his 
relation  to  the  Conway  cabal,  215- 
223 ;  receives  anonymous  letter  hos 
tile  to  Washington,  215-218 ;  trans. 


390 


INDEX. 


mits  it  to  Washington  with  two  let 
ters  from  himself,  218-220 ;  Wash 
ington's  two  letters  in  reply,  220- 
"•':; .  ileepl'i-it-ndship  between  Henry 
and  Washington,  223-224;  two  let 
ters  to  R.  H.  Lee,  '224-227  ;  extraor 
dinary  powers  twice  conferred  UJXMI 
him  ia  1778,  228;  elected  governor 
third   time,   and   his  letter  of    ac 
knowledgment,  228;    public  events 
during  his  third  term,  229  ;  success 
of  his  expedition  into  Illinois  under  i 
George  Rogers  Clark,  229-231  ;   his  \ 
letter  to  the  president  of  congress  | 
respecting   the    military   situation, 
232-234;   letter  to  Washington  on 
same    subject,    234-235 ;    sends    to 
congress  news  of  British  invasion  of 
Virginia,  235-237  ;  his  proclamation 
to  Virginia  respecting  this  invasion, 
237;    additional  letter  to  congress 
on  same  subject,  238 ;  declines  re 
election  as  governor  for  fourth  year, 
238-239;  acknowledges  complimen 
tary  resolutions  of  the  legislature, 
240;    Theophilus  Eland's   sneer  at 
his  executive  abilities,  240  ;  opposite 
opinion  expressed    by   Washington 
and    by  Virginia  legislature,    240- 
241  ;    royal    title  conferred  by  the 
French  allies,  242 ;    his  retirement 
in  1779,  242  ;    declines  election  to 
congress  in  same  year,  242 ;  his  re 
moval    to    Leatherwood    and    resi 
dence  there  from  1779  to  1784,  243  ; 
his  despondent  letter  to  Jefferson  in 
1780,  244-245;  delegate  to  Virginia 
legislature  from  Henry  County,  and 
services  in  that  body  from  1780  till 
November,  1784,  245-262;   his  elo 
quence  in  the  legislature,  262-265  ; 
traditions  respecting  his  flight  with 
the  legislature    from    the    British, 
249-254 ;  unfounded  charge  respect 
ing  dictatorship  in   1781,   254-250;  ! 
his  liberality  to  the  defeated  loyal-  | 
ists,  257-2GO  ;  advocates  freedom  of  | 
trade,  200;  his  advanced  views  re-  j 
specting  the  Indian  question,  2CO-  ; 
262 ;  antagonizes  public  opinion  by  ' 
his    measures    respecting    religion. 
262 ;    his   courage    as  a  politician, 
,  262;  the  ordinary  misconception  of  | 
his  motives  for  opposing  constitu-  ; 
tion  of  United  States,  266 ;  death  of  I 
his  mother  in  1784,  267;  residence 
of  his  family  near  Richmond  from 
1784  to  1786, 267  :  his  ntyl.-  of  living, 
267-268 ;     his     friendly    corn-: ;.p<>n- 
dence    with    Washington,    26S  iV.) ; 
his  final  retirement  from  the  gov-  ; 
emorship,     269-270  ;     removes    to 


Prince  Edward  County,  270 ;  sent  by 
that  county  to  the  legislature,  270 ; 
his  tendency  toward  federal  ideas, 
271-273 ;  this  tendency  checked  and 
reversed  by  the  project  for  surren-, 
deringto  Spain  the  .Mississippi,  273-^ 
277  ;  declines  appointment  to  Phihv 
delphia  convention  for  revising  cou^ 
stitution,  276-277 ;  the  motive  for 
his  anti-federalism  described  by 
Madison,  Edmund  Randolph,  and 
Marshall,  277-278 ;  anxiety  of  public 
men  on  account  of  his  hostility  to 
strengthening  the  confederation, 
277-278  ;  receives  from  Washington 
copy  of  new  constitution,  279-280 ; 
consents  to  call  of  state  convention 
to  consider  same,  280  ;  anxiety  of 
Washington,  Madison,  and  others 
respecting  Henry's  opposition,  280- 
283 ;  his  political  methods  censured 
by  president  Smith,  283 ;  leads  op 
position  in  Virginia  convention  of 
1788,  284-301;  his  principal  sup- 
porters,  285  ;  his  activity  in  debate, 
286  ;  evidence  of  intellectual  power, 
286-287  ;  not  a  disunionist,  287-288 ;  / 
objects  to  new  constitution  as  ex-  / 
ceeding  the  powers  delegated  to  the 
convention,  288-289 ;  objects  to  its 
failure  to  protect  states  and  individ 
uals,  289-292  ;  danger  from  implied 
powers,  291-292;  his  criticism  of 
the  constitution  in  detail,  especially 
as  regards  the  executive,  292-294; 
his  fear  of  danger  to  popular  rights 
and  liberties,  294  ;  his  strategic  pol-  } 
icy  in  Virginia  convention,  295 ;  his  { 
pacific  declaration  at  close  of  con 
vention,  296-297  ;  high  character  of 
his  eloquence  in  Virginia  conven 
tion,  297-301  ;  denounced  by  Ran 
dolph  for  unparliamentary  conduct, 
298-299 ;  scornfully  treated  by  Gen 
eral  Stephen,  299  ;  irregularity  and  | 
variety  of  his  arguments  against  the  i 
constitution,  298-299 ;  the  thunder 
storm  scene  in  the  convention,  299-  1 
3(11  ;  his  after-fight  for  amendments, 
302-317  ;  his  reason  for  urging  pre 
vious  amendments  to  the  constitu 
tion,  302-303  ;  his  policy  in  agitat 
ing  lor  amendments  after  adoption, 
303-304  ;  his  letter  to  General  John 
Lamb  respecting  policy  of  opposi 
tion,  304-306 ;  his  pacific  promise  in 
convention  reported  by  Madison 
and  Washington,  306-307  ;  encour 
aged  by  New  York  circular  letter  to 
airitate  for  im mediate  amendments, 
:« »7-308 ;  his  control  of  Virginia  leg 
islature  in  1788,  308;  his  measures 


INDEX. 


391 


to  secure  immediate  amendments 
adopted  by  legislature,  308-315; 
writes  Virginia's  appeal  to  congress 
for  a  national  convention,  309-311 ; 
opposes  election  of  Madison  as  sena 
tor,  and  secures  election  of  R.  H.  Lee 
and  Grayson,  312,  313  ;  anticipates 
in  Virginia  the  practice  of  gerry 
mandering,  313  ;  censured  for  these 
proceedings  by  Tobias  Lear,  314- 
315;  fails  to  defeat  Madison  for 
congress,  315  ;  the  effect  of  his  lead 
ership  in  securing  first  ten  amend 
ments  to  constitution,  315-317  ;  re 
sumes  practice  of  the  law  in  1786, 
011  account  of  poverty,  318-319 ;  in 
1794,  retires  with  a  fortune,  319; 
great  demand  for  his  professional 
services,  319  ;  extent  and  variety  of 
his  practice,  319-320;  his  part  in 
the  British  debt  cause,  320-327  ;  his 
laborious  preparation  for  the  argu 
ment,  321-322  ;  his  first  argument 
in  the  cause  in  1791,  322-324 ;  his 
second  argument  in  1793,  324-327; 
analysis  of  his  genius  and  methods 
as  an  advocate,  327-330;  instances 
of  his  power  as  an  advocate  given 
by  Dr.  Alexander,  330-335;  by 
Judge  Roane,  335-337  ;  and  by  Con 
rad  Speece,  337-340;  goes  into  re 
tirement  in  1794,  341 ;  his  final  set 
tlement  at  Red  Hill  in  1795,  341 ; 
his  acquisition  of  fortune,  341-342 ; 
description  of  his  home  at  Red  Hill, 
342-343 ;  his  character  and  disposi 
tion  in  private  life,  343-344;  scur 
rilous  attacks  upon  him,  344;  his 
habits  as  to  diet,  stimulants,  and 
tobacco,  344-345;  his  elocutionary 
morning  exercise,  345-346 ;  his  prin 
ciples  and  practice  as  regards  slav 
ery,  346-347  ;  his  manner  of  receiv 
ing  visitors,  347-348;  his  modesty 
in  referring  to  his  own  achieve 
ments,  348;  his  occupations  in 
retirement,  348-349;  his  favorite 
books,  music,  etc.,  349;  his  reli 
gious  character  and  habits,  349-352 ; 
his  attention  to  contemporary 
events,  352  ;  his  opinions  respecting 
the  French  revolution,  353-354; 
progress  of  his  opinions  respecting 
the  constitution  and  the  federal 
government,  354 ;  Iredell's  testi 
mony  concerning  his  moderation 
and  liberality,  355;  his  reconcilia 
tion  with  Washington,  355-358 ;  ap 
pointed  United  States  senator  in 
1794  and  declines,  355 ;  declines  of 
fice  of  secretary  of  state  under 
Washington,  358-359 ;  declines  office 


of  chief  justice  of  United  States, 
359-3GO ;  is  considered  for  the  vice- 
presidency,  360  ;  is  sneered  at  by 
Jefferson  for  these  overtures,  361 ; 
letter  to  his  daughter  denying  any 
change  of  political  opinion,  361-362 ; 
elected  governor  of  Virginia  for  the 
sixth  time  and  declines,  362 ;  his 
letter  to  Blair  on  the  public  situation 
early  in  1799, 364-367 ;  declines  presi 
dent  Adams's  appointment  as  one  of 
the  three  envoys  to  France,  367- 
368 ;  Washington's  appeal  to  him  to 
enter  the  legislature,  368-370;  his 
last  public  appearance,  370-375 ;  his 
last  illness  and  death,  376-377. 

Henry,  William  Wirt,  grandson  of 
Patrick  Henry,  25, 63  note  ;  76  note ; 
his  opinion  as  to  his  grandfather's 
practice  as  a  lawyer,  29. 

Holt,  James,  in  second  Virginia  con 
vention,  134. 

Hopkins,  Stephen,  member  first  con 
tinental  congress,  96  ;  in  second  con 
tinental  congress,  154. 

Howe,  Gen.  Robert,  takes  command 
of  Virginia  forces,  and  slights  Hen- 
ry,  159. 

Howe,  Gen.  Sir  William,  216;  letter 
from  Lord  Dunmore,  157-158;  ab 
stains  from  aggressive  action  in  the 
spring  of  1777,  208. 

Independence,  advocated  by  General 
Charles  Lee,  170-173;  conflict  of 
opinions  about  the  time  of  its  de 
claration,  171 ;  Henry  favors  its 
postponement  until  after  confedera 
tion  and  foreign  alliances,  171-176 ; 
Virginia  instructs  its  delegates  for, 
174 ;  the  measure  advocated  by  Hen 
ry,  174 ;  enthusiasm  for,  in  Virginia, 
176. 

Innes,  James,  supports  Madison  in 
convention  of  1788,  285 ;  Henry's 
associate  in  British  debt  cause,  321. 

Iredell,  James,  sits  in  British  debt 
cause,  324  ;  his  impression  of  Henry 
as  an  orator,  324-325;  his  compli 
ment  to  Henry's  argument,  326- 
327  ;  describes  Henry's  moderation 
and  liberality  in  1793,  355. 

Jay,  John,  16G;  member  first  conti 
nental  congress--,  96  ;  speaks  in  sec 
ond  day's  debate,  100 ;  presents  to 
congress  project  for  surrendering 
the  Mississippi,  273  274  ;  presides  in 
British  debt  cause,  324  ;  describes 
Henry  as  the  greatest  of  orators, 
325:  conversations  with  Henry  in 
1793,  355. 


392 


INDEX. 


Jefferson,  Thomas,  82,  83,  284,  362 ; 
first  acquaintance  with  Henry,  7-8 ; 
describes  Henry's  pronunciation,  9; 
and  limited  reading,  1 1-12 ;  his  two 
accounts  of  Henry's  legal  examina 
tion,  20-21  ;   describes  Henry  as  a 
barkeeper,  23 ;   and  as  ignorant  of 
the  law  and  negligent  in  its  prac 
tice,  20^1;  describes  Henry's  speech 
againstthe   public  loan  office,  57  ; 
describes  Henry's  eloquence  against 
Stamp  Act,   G3-64 ;    attributes  the 
Virginia  resolves,  first,  to  Johnston, 
and,  afterward,  to  Henry,  75  note  ; 
asserts  that  Henry's  course  against 
Stamp  Act  placed  him  in  advance  of 
the  old  leaders  in  Virginia,  79 ;  his 
disparagement  of  Henry  as  a  law 
yer,  83-84  ;  in  Virginia  politics,  84  ; 
ascriBPsto  Henry  first  overt  act  of 
war  in  Virginia,  137  ;  describes  Hen 
ry's  bearing  and  influence  in  second 
continental  congress,  148-149;  this 
testimony  criticised,   149-154  ;   en 
ters  second    continentaT  congress, 
152 ;  returns  to  Virginia  and  enters 
convention,  155  ;  leader  of  party  of 
progress  in  Virginia,  178 ;  account 
of  alleged  project  for  a  dictatorship 
in  Virginia  in  1770, 197-200  ;  historic 
value   of  this  testimony,  206-208; 
receives    extraordinary    powers    as 
governor,  201  ;    first    elected    gov 
ernor  of  Virginia,  June,  1779,  239 ; 
reference  to  his  executive  abilities 
by   Bland,   240;    despondent  letter 
from   Henry  in   1780,  243-245 :  his 
story  of  the  dictatorship  m  1781, 
254-250  ;  his  flight  from  the  British 
iff  17&1,   254  ;  receives    letters    re 
specting    Henry's    approval    of    a 
stronger    confederation,    272-273  ; 
also  concerning  political  effects  of 
project  for  surrendering  the  Missis 
sippi,  274-275  ;  letters  from  Madison 
concerning    Henry's  opposition    to 
new  constitution,  280-281.  282  ;  let 
ter  from  Carrington  on  same  sub 
ject,  282 ;  expresses  alarm  over  new 
constitution,    284,   294-295;    letter 
from   Madison   respecting    Henry's 
agitation    for    immediate     amend 
ments,  307-308  ;  his  accusation  re- 
spectinj^Henry's  business  transac 
tions,  342 ;   his  political   separation 
from  Washington,  354  ;  his  sneer  at 
federalist    compliments    to   Henry, 
3O  ;  his  letter  to  Mazzei,  363 ;  au- 
ffior  of  Kentucky  resolutions,  363. 
Jenyms,  Soame,  his  "  View  of  the  In 
ternal  Evidence  of    Christianity," 


printed  by  Henry  for  private  distri 
bution,  351. 

Johnson,  Thomas,  member  of  first 
continental  congress,  on  committee 
for  address  to  the  king,  104;  op 
poses  Pendleton  for  president  of 
Virginia  convention  of  1770,  109. 

Johnston,  George,  in  confidential  re 
lations  with  Henry  respecting  his 
resolutions  against  Stamp  Act,  61 ; 
his  ability  as  a  debater,  64 ;  on  im 
portant  committees  in  second  Vir 
ginia  convention,  134. 

Johnstone,  Gov.  George,  on  British 
commission  to  treat  with  Americans 
in  1778,  227. 

i  Jones,  William,  complainant  in  Brit 
ish  debt  cause,  320. 

Jouette,  Captain  John,  warns  Vir 
ginia  legislature  of  Tarleton's  ap 
proach,  249-251. 

Kentucky  Resolutions,  363-364. 

King,  address  to  the,  by  first  conti 
nental  congress,  104-105  ;  its  author 
ship  misstated  by  Wirt  and  Jeffer 
son,  108-109. 

Kirkland,  Rev.  Samuel,  Indian  mis 
sionary,  receives  proposals  from  sec 
ond  continental  congress,  153. 

Lamb,  Gen.  John,  letter  from  Henry 
on  opposition  to  new  constitution, 
|  304-306. 

Langdon,  John,  in  second  continental 
congress,  154. 

Lear,  Tobias,  letter  respecting  Hen 
ry's  leadership  in  Virginia  legisla 
ture,  314-315. 

Lee,  Gen.  Charles,  describes  military 
preparations  in  the  colonies  in  1774, 
115 ;  appointed  second  major  gen 
eral,  152  ;  praises  Virginia  conven 
tion  of  1776,  170-171  ;  urges  on 
Henry  immediate  declaration  of  in 
dependence,  170-173;  congratulates 
Henry  on  his  election  as  governor, 
190-191 ;  ridicule  of  American  cant 
in  titles,  190-191  ;  extolled  in  an 
anonymous  letter  to  Henry,  217. 

Lee,  Henry,  in  Virginia  convention  of 
1776,  177  ;  on  committee  for  draft 
ing  state  constitution,  177 ;  on  com 
mittee  to  notify  Henry  of  his  elec 
tion  as  governor,  187 ;  supports 
Madison  in  convention  of  1788,  285 ; 
as  governor  of  Virginia  appoints 
Henry  U.  S.  senator  in  1794,  355; 
his  efforts  for  reconciliation  between 
Washington  and  Henry,  355-358; 
authorized  by  Washington  to  invite 


INDEX. 


393 


Henry  to  become  chief  justice  of  U. 
S.,  359-300. 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  88 ;  on  commit 
tee  for  message  against  the  Stamp 
Act,  58  ;  as  a  leader  in  Virginia  pol 
itics,  84 ;  as  the  Cicero  of  the  age, 
90 ;  goes  to  first  continental  con 
gress,  94;  his  convivialities  there, 
94-95;  absent  from  first  meeting, 
99  note  ;  speaks  second  day,  101 ; 
chairman  of  committee  for  address 
to  the  king,  104 ;  prepares  first 
draft  of  address,  104;  alleged  ef 
fect  of  his  first  speeches,  105,  10G, 
108;  on  important  committees  in 
second  Virginia  convention,  134  ;  in 
second  continental  congress,  152  ; 
letter  from  Henry,  175,  180-181 ; 
leader  of  party  of  progress  in  Vir 
ginia,  178  ;  accused  of  favoring  Con- 
way  cabal,  215,  225 ;  his  loss  of 
popularity  in  Virginia,  224-225 ;  two 
letters  from  Henry,  224-227 ;  ex 
horted  by  Henry  to  remain  in  pub 
lic  life,  227  ;  as  a  rival  of  Henry  in 
the  legislature,  246,  263-265;  ab 
sent  from  Virginia  convention  of 
1788,  284  ;  his  disapproval  of  new 
constitution,  285;  elected  senator 
from  Virginia,  312  ;  approves  of  the 
federal  government  under  Washing 
ton,  354. 

Leonard,  Daniel,  author  of  the  "Let 
ters  of  Massachusettensis,"  de 
scribes  the  effect  of  the  Virginia  re 
solves,  73-74. 

Lewis,  Andrew,  on  committee  for  arm 
ing  Virginia  militia,  134. 

Lewis,  William,  meets  Henry  in  his 
flight  from  Tarletoii,  253. 

Lincoln,  Benjamin,  letter  from  Wash 
ington  respecting  result  of  Virginia 
convention  of  1788,  306-307. 

Littlepage,  James,  his  seat  in  the  Vir 
ginia  legislature  contested  by  Dan- 
dridge,  54. 

Livingston,  Philip,  member  first  conti 
nental  congress,  96 ;  in  second  con 
tinental  congress,  152-153. 

Livingston,  William,  1GG ;  member 
first  continental  congress,  96. 

Lowndes,  Rawlins,  opposed  to  new 
constitution,  294. 

Loyalists,  in  American  Revolution, 
their  principles,  257  ;  hostility  to, 
at  end  of  the  war,  257-258 ;  magnan 
imous  policy  towards,  advocated  by 
Hamilton  and  Henry,  258-260. 

Lynch,  Thomas,  94  ;  member  of  first 
continental  congress,  93 ;  admired 
by  John  Adams,  93 ;  nominates  Pey 
ton  Randolph  for  president  of  con 


gress  and  Thomson  for  secretary, 
95-96;  speaks  in  second  day's  de 
bate,  100 ;  in  second  continental 
congress,  152. 

Madison,  James,  intimates  doubt  of 
Henry's  authorship  of  the  Virginia 
resolves,  75,  note  ;  in  Virginia  con 
vention  of  1776,  168 ;  on  committee 
for  drafting  state  constitution,  180  ; 
his  anecdote  respecting  Henry's  elo 
quence,  262-263 ;  described  as  a  less 
practical  statesman  than  Henry, 
263-264  ;  his  inferiority  to  Henry  in 
debate,  2G4 ;  conference  with  Henry 
in  1784  for  strengthening  the  con 
federation,  272-273  ;  his  letters  re 
specting  project  for  surrendering 
the  Mississippi,and  the  effect  thereof 
on  Virginia  and  on  Henry,  274-275  ; 
277-278  ;  reports  to  Jefferson  con 
cerning  Henry's  opposition  to  new 
constitution,  280-281,  282;  letter 
from  President  Smith  respecting 
Henry's  political  methods,  283; 
leads  Virginia  convention  in  sup 
port  of  new  constitution,  285;  his 
powerful  arguments,  297 ;  letters 
respecting  Henry's  agitation  for 
amendments,  30G,  307  ;  defeated  for 
senator  by  Henry,  312-313;  elected 
to  the  house  of  represenTatives  in 
spite  of  Henry,  313^315:  leads  the 
house  in  favor  of  immediate  amend 
ments,  315-317  ;  his  political  separa 
tion  from  Washington,  354  ;  author 
of  Virginia  resolutions,  364. 

Mclntosh,  General  Lachan,  his  mili 
tary  command  in  the  Indian  country 
in  1779,  235. 

McKean,  Thomas,  member  of  first 
continental  congress,  96. 

Marshall,  John,  letter  respecting 
Henry's  attitude  toward  new  con 
stitution,  277  ;  supports  Madison  in 
convention  of  1788,  285;  Henry's 
associate  in  British  debt  cause,  321 ; 
his  efforts  in  British  debt  cause 
compared  with  those  of  Henry,  326 ; 
commended  by  Henry  as  a  candidate 
for  congress  in  1799,  366. 

Martin,  Luther,  opposed  to  new  con 
stitution,  294. 

Mason,  George,  187 ;  as  a  leader  in 
Virginia  politics,  84  ;  his  opinion  of 
Henry  in  1774,  87  ;  in  Virginia  con 
vention  of  1776,  168  ;  a  leader  of  the 
Democratic  side,  178 ;  member  of 
committee  to  draft  state  constitu 
tion,  180 ;  author  of  first  fourteen 
articles,  184  ;  influence  against  the 
new  constitution,  281,  285 ;  a  lead- 


394 


INDEX. 


ing  supporter  of  Henry  in  conven-  ] 
tion  of  1788,  285  ;  to  act  as  chair-  j 
man  of  Virginia  republican  society,  j 
305. 

Mason,  Thompson,  82,  83. 

Matthews,  General,  his  expedition  into 
Virginia  in  1779,  229,  235-238. 

Maury,  Rev.  James,  rector  of  Fred- 
ericksville,  his  suit  for  recovery  of 
salary,  40-49  ;  Henry  retained  by  the 
defendants,  42;  describes  Henry's 
conduct  of  the  case,  42,  46-51. 

Ma/zei,  Phillip,  Jefferson's  letter  to, 
363. 

Meade,  Rt.  Rev.  William,  Bishop  of 
Virginia,  explains  Henry's  apology 
to  Maury,  51. 

Mercer,  James,  82,  134. 

Meredith,  Samuel,  describes  character 
of  Henry's  mother,  267. 

Middleton,  Henry,  member  first  con 
tinental  congress,  93,  96. 

Mimin,  Thomas,  member  first  conti 
nental  congress,  93,  96  ;  entertains 
delegates,   94-95;  in   cabal   against  ' 
Washington,  219,  223. 

Miller,  John,  his  account  of  Henry's 
last  speech,  377. 

Moffett,  Colonel  George,  flight  of  leg 
islators  to  his  farm,  253-254. 

Monroe,  James,  his  letter  to  Henry  j 
respecting  congressional  projects  for 
disunion  in  1786,  274 :  opposed  to 
new  constitution,  285 ;  supports 
Henry  in  convention  of  1788,  285 ; 
letter  from  Jefferson  respecting 
Federalist  overtures  to  Henry,  301 ; 
his  recall  from  France  in  1797, 
363. 

Murray,  Wrilliam  Vans,  appointed  en 
voy  to  France  in  1799,  367. 

Nelson,  Thomas,  in  Virginia  conven 
tion  of  1770, 174  ;  offers  resolution 
instructing  delegates  to  declare  in 
dependence,  174;  conveys  resolu 
tion  to  congress,  175  ;  recommended 
for  confidential  communications 
from  R.  H.  Lee,  181  ;  rival  of  Henry 
for  governor  of  Virginia,  186 ; 
elected  governor  of  Virginia  in 
1781,  254;  his  disapproval  of  new 
constitution,  284. 

Newenham,  Sir  Edward,  sends  present 
to  Washington,  209. 

Newton,  Thomas,  in  second  Virginia 
convention,  134. 

Nicholas,  George,  supports  Madison 
in  convention  of  1788,  285. 

Nicholas,  John,  supposed  author  of 
scurrilous  attacks  on  Henry,  344. 

Nicholas,  Robert  Carter,  83,  84 ;  one 


of  Henry's  law  examiners,  21  ;  op 
poses  Henry's  resolutions  against 
Stamp  Act,  03 ;  transfers  his  law 
practice  to  Henry,  83 ;  opposes 
Henry  in  second  Virginia  conven 
tion,  121 ;  on  important  committee 
in  same  convention,  134 ;  repels 
Henry's  offer  of  protection  of  Vir 
ginia  treasury,  142-143 ;  in  Virginia 
convention  of  1776, 168 ;  on  commit 
tee  to  draft  state  constitution,  177  ; 
in  favor  of  conservative  features, 
178. 

North,  Lord,  failure  of  his  peace  com 
missioners,  229. 

Oswald,  Eleazer,  visits  Henry  at  Vir 
ginia  convention  of  1788,  305. 

Page,  John,  9  ;  as  a  leader  in  Virginia 
politics,  84;  receives  one  vote  for 
governor  in  1776,  186. 

Page,  Mann,  as  a  leader  in  Virginia 
politics,  84  ;  in  Virginia  convention 
of  1776,  168 ;  on  committee  for 
drafting  st  .te  constitution,  177. 

Paine,  Thomas,  his  "  Age  of  Reason  " 
prompts  Henry  to  write  a  treatise  in 
defence  of  Christianity,  351-352. 

Parsons'  Cause,  the,  32-49. 

Pendleton,  Edmund,  10,  21,  75  note, 
82,  83,  96,  100;  on  committee  for 
message  against  Stamp  Act,  58  ;  op 
poses  Henry's  resolutions  against 
Stamp  Act,  (>3 ;  goes  to  first  conti 
nental  congress,  90;  described  by 
Atkinson,  91  ;  speaks  in  second  day's 
debate,  100  ;  opposes  Henry  in  sec 
ond  Virginia  convention,  121  ;  on 
important  committees  in  same  con 
vention,  134  ;  enters  Virginia  con 
vention  of  1775,  155  ;  is  thanked  by 
convention  for  service  in  Congress, 
155;  chairman  of  Virginia  commit 
tee  of  safety,  157  ;  explains  to  R.  H. 
Lee  military  situation,  157-158; 
president  of  convention  of  1776, 
168 ;  encounters  enmity  of  Henry's 
friends,  169  ;  author  of  Virginia  res 
olution  for  instructing  delegates  for 
independence,  174 ;  leader  of  con 
servative  party  in  Virginia,  178 ; 
supports  Madison  in  convention  of 
1788,  285. 

Phillips,  General  William,  invades 
Virginia  in  1781,  248. 

Raleigh  Tavern,  meeting  of  burgesses 
in,  86-87. 

Randall,  Henry  Stephens,  biographer 
of  Jefferson,  cites  from  Jefferson's 
fee-books,  28;  gives  tradition  of 


INDEX. 


395 


Henry's  speech  for  arming  militia, 
129. 

Randolph,  Edmund,  288  ;  his  version 
of  a  passage  in  Henry's  speech 
against  Stamp  Act,  G5  note  ;  men 
tions  Fleming  as  author  of  the  Vir 
ginia  resolves,  75  note ;  in  Virginia 
convention  of  1776,  1G8  ;  testimony 
respecting  Virginia  resolution  in 
structing  delegates  to  declare  inde 
pendence,  174 ;  on  committee  for 
drafting  state  constitution,  177  ; 
testimony  respecting  authorship  of 
Virginia  Declaration  of  Rights,  184  ; 
describes  Washington  as  dictator  in 
1781,  202  ;  his  testimony  respecting 
dictatorship  in  Virginia,  255-25G ; 
informs  Madison  of  Henry's  refusal 
to  go  to  Philadelphia  convention, 
277  ;  Madison's  reply,  278 ;  letter 
from  Madison  respecting  Henry's 
opposition  to  new  constitution,  282  ; 
his  vacillation  respecting  new  con 
stitution,  284-285 ;  favors  new  con 
stitution  in  Virginia  convention, 
285;  his  opinion  against  separate 
confederacies  assented  to  by  Henry, 
288  ;  personal  collisions  with  Henry 
in  Virginia  convention,  298-299. 

Randolph,  John,  82  ;  one  of  Henry's 
legal  examiners,  21-23. 

Randolph,  John,  of  Roanoke,  describes 
Henry's  appearance  and  oratory  in 
British  debt  cause,  324-325;  his 
speech  at  the  time  of  Henry's  last 
public  appearance,  374-375 ;  Henry's 
parting  counsel  to  him,  375. 

Randolph,  Peyton,  84,  88;  one  of 
Henry's  examiners,  21 ;  on  commit 
tee  for  message  against  Stamp  Act, 
58 ;  opposes  Henry's  policy  on  the 
subject,  59,  G3,  66 ;  described  by 
Atkinson,  91  ;  goes  to  first  conti 
nental  congress,  94;  elected  its 
president,  95 ;  directs  Thomson  to 
take  the  minutes,  97  ;  tries  to  pre 
vent  disturbance  in  the  affair  of  the 
gunpowder,  139. 

Read,  George,  member  first  continen 
tal  congress,  96. 

Red  Hill  becomes  Henry's  estate  in 
1795,  341 ;  description  of,  342-343  ; 
Henry's  mode  of  life  at,  344-352. 

Reed,  Joseph,  95;  corresponds  with 
Washington  respecting  Henry's  mil 
itary  fitness,  164. 

Religious  liberty  in  Virginia,  asserted 
in  16th  article  of  Declaration  of 
Rights  as  written  by  Henry,  184; 
restraints  upon,  184-185 ;  petition 
of  Baptists  for,  185 ;  questions  af 
fecting,  262. 


Riddick,  Lemuel,  on  committee  for 
arming  Virginia  militia,  134. 

Roane,  John,  describes  Henry's  speech 
for  arming  militia,  129-132  ;  verifies 
correctness  of  Wirt's  version  of 
same  speech,  132-133. 

ioane,  Spencer,  9  ;  his  description  of 
Henry  and  R.  H.  Lee  as  debaters, 
263-265 ;  describes  Henry's  manner 
of  living  as  governor,  267-268 ;  de 
scribes  Henry's  eloquence  in  conven 
tion  of  1788,  300-301  ;  his  descrip 
tion  of  Henry  as  a  criminal  lawyer, 
335-337. 

Robertson,  David,  stenographer  of 
convention  of  1788,  286,  298,  300; 
reports  Henry's  first  argument  in 
British  debt  cause,  326. 

Robertson,  William,  of  Edinburgh, 
author  of  "  History  of  Charles  V.," 
kinsman  of  Patrick  Henry,  2-3. 

Robinson,  John,  speaker  of  the  house 
of  burgesses  and  treasurer  of  Vir 
ginia,  56;  liis  corruption  in  office, 

Robinson,  Rev.  William,  commissary 
in  Virginia  of  the  Bishop  of  London, 
denounces  Henry  for  his  course  in 
"  the  Parsons'  Cause,"  and  against 
the  Stamp  Act,  77-78. 

Rodney,  C;esar,  member  first  conti 
nental  congress,  96 ;  in  second  con 
tinental  congress,  154. 

Rush,  Dr.  Benjamin,  mentioned  by 
Washington  as  author  of  anonymous 
letter  to  Henry,  222. 

Rutledge,  Edward,  member  first  con 
tinental  congress,  93,  94,  96,  100. 

Rutledge,  John,  member  first  conti 
nental  congress,  96,  100;  member 
of  committee  for  address  to  the 
king,  104;  in  second  continental 
congress,  152  ;  extraordinary  powers 
conferred  on  him  as  governor  of 
South  Carolina,  201  ;  his  nomination 
as  chief  justice  of  United  States  re 
jected  by  the  senate,  359. 

Schuyler,  General  Philip,  in  second 
continental  congress,  152. 

Shelton,  Sarah,  first  wife  of  Patrick 
Henry,  6. 

Sherlock,  Bishop  Thomas,  his  sermons 
favorite  rnading  of  Henry,  349 ;  his 
method  of  dealing  with  religious 
problems  approved  by  Henry,  351. 

Sherman,  Roger,  member  first  conti 
nental  congress,  96. 

Simcoe,  John  Graves,  as  a  partisan, 
166. 

Slavery,  Henry's  opinions  and  practice 
concerning,  346-347. 


396 


INDEX. 


Smith,  Rev.  John  Blair,  describes  I 
Henry's  political  methods  against  ! 
new  constitution,  283. 

Smith,  Meriwether,  opposed  to  new 
constitution,  285. 

Smith,  Rev.  William,  provost  of  Phil 
adelphia  College,  confers  with  mem-  j 
bers  of  first  continental  congress,  i 
84. 

Sparks,  Jared,  editor  of  Washington's  ' 
writings,  prints  some  official  letters  ; 
of  Henry,  214  note. 

Speece,  Rev.  Conrad,  his  description 
of  Henry's  management  and  elo 
quence  in  a  criminal  trial,  337-340. 

Stamp  Act,  early  discussion  of,  in  Vir 
ginia,  58 ;  reception  in  Virginia  of 
news  of  its  passage,  58-60  ;  Henry 
leads  Virginia  in  opposition  to,  GO 
GS  ;  Henry's  resolutions  against,  61- 
64,  67  note  ;  influence  of  those  reso 
lutions  in  the  other  colonies,  70-74  ; 
their  authorship  avowed  by  Henry, 
74-76. 

Stephen,  Adam,  on  committee  for 
arming  Virginia  militia,  134 ;  his 
taunts  at  Henry  in  convention  of 
1788,  299. 

Sullivan,  John,  member  first  conti 
nental  congress,  96  ;  speaks  in  first 
day's  debate,  98. 

Syme,  Mrs.    Sarah,    widow   of    John  I 
Syme,  described  by  Byrd,  1-2  ;  mar 
ries  John  Henry,  2  ;  mother  of  Pat-  ' 
rick  Henry,  2 ;  her  family  of   the 
Wiustous,  3-4. 

Tarleton,  Sir  Banastre,  as  a  partisan, 
166  ;  his  exploits  against  the  legisla-  i 
ture  of  Virginia  in  1781,  249-254. 

Taylor,  John,  of  Caroline,  10. 

Thacher,  Oxenbridge,  praises  the  Vir 
ginians  for  their  resolutions  against 
Stamp  Act,  73. 

Thomson,  Charles,  93,  94  ;  made  sec 
retary  of  first  continental  congress. 
95,  96,  97 ;  describes  Henry's  first 
speech,  97  ;  value  of  his  testimony, 
97  note. 

Tillotson,  Archbishop  John,  his  ser 
mons  favorite  reading  of  Henry, 
349. 

Tobacco,  as  money  in  Virginia,  33-39. 

Tucker,  St.  George,  visitor  in  second 
Virginia  convention,  120  ;  gives 
names  of  opponents  of  Henry's  mo 
tion,  120-121 ;  describes  Henry's 
speech  in  support  of  his  motion, 
126,  127,  132;  describes  Henry's 
speeches  in  convention  of  1788,  299. 

Tyler,  Judge  John,  20  ;  his  narrative 
of  Henry'tt  legal  examination,  21-23 ; 


his  version  of  a  passage  in  Henry's 
speech  against  Stamp  Act,  64-65 
note;  said  to  have  written  Wirt's 
version  of  Henry's  speech  for  arm 
ing  militia,  133;  his  flight  from 
Tarleton,  251-252;  opposes  Henry 
respecting  the  loyalists,  258;  opposed 
to  new  constitution,  285  ;  supports 
Henry  in  convention  of  1788,  285. 

Virginia,  its  legislation  respecting  sal 
aries  of  the  clergy,  32-39 ;  enthu 
siasm  of  its  people  for  eloquent 
men,  53 ;  corruption  in  its  colonial 
legislature,  56-57 ;  its  law  courts 
closed  by  the  revolution,  81 ;  division 
of  parties  with  respect  to  revolu 
tionary  politics,  84-85;  action  of 
house  of  burgesses  with  respect  to 
the  Boston  Port  Bill,  86  ;  house  dis 
solved  by  Lord  Dumnere,  86 ;  its 
convention,  August,  1774,  recom 
mends  continental  congress,  and 
appoints  delegates  thereto,  87-89 ; 
its  delegates  praised  by  John  Ad 
ams,  94 ;  its  influence  in  the  con 
gress,  100 ;  its  second  revolutionary 
convention,  113-134 ;  political  sig 
nificance  of  its  resolutions  for  arming 
militia,  113-122;  Henry's  speeches 
in  convention,  121-133;  its  first 
overt  act  of  war  committed  by 
Henry,  137 ;  alarm  at  seizure  of 
gunpowder  by  Dunmore,  and  action 
taken  thereon,  138-142  ;  many  coun 
ties  thank  Henry  for  his  action  re 
specting  gunpowder,  145-146;  its 
convention  for  July  and  August, 
1775,  155-156;  its  committee  of 
safety  restrains  military  activity  of 
Henry,  156-159,  162-166;  conven 
tion  of  1776,  168-188 ;  character  of 
its  members,  168-169;  the  question 
of  independence,  170-177 ;  popular 
enthusiasm  over  proposal  for  inde 
pendence,  176 ;  influence  of  Vir 
ginia's  example,  177 ;  aristocratic 
and  democratic  tendencies  in  con 
vention,  177-186;  triumph  of  de 
mocracy,  185-186 ;  religious  liberty, 
184-185;  becomes  a  state  and 
chooses  Henry  its  first  governor, 
185-186 ;  salary  and  residence  of  its 
first  governor,  189  ;  rejoicing  of  the 
Baptists  over  the  election  of  Henry 
as  governor,  191,  192;  traditional 
idea  as  to  dignity  of  its  governor, 
193-194  ;  its  military  defence  sug 
gested  by  Washington,  195-196; 
first  session  of  its  state  legislature, 
194-195  ;  the  project  for  a  dictator 
ship  in  1776,  198-208 ;  military  as- 


INDEX. 


397 


sistance  to  Washington  in  1776  and 

1777,  208-209;  difficulty  in  raising 
troops,   210-211  ;  elects  Henry  for 
governor  a  second  time,   211-212;  ! 
executive  business  during  Henry's 
second  term,   214;   attempt  to  un 
dermine  Virginia's  support  of  Wash 
ington,  215;  personal  bitterness  in 
its  politics,  224;   diminished  favor 
towards  R.  H.  Lee,  224-226;  lack 
of  patriotism  in  1778,  226  ;  bestows 
extraordinary  powers  on  Henry  in 

1778,  228 ;  elects  him  governor  for 
third  time,  228 ;  success  of  Clark's 
expedition  to  Illinois,  230-231 ;  con 
fers  extraordinary  powers  on  Gov 
ernor    Henry,  232;   military  situa 
tion  of  Virginia  in  1778,  232-234; 
invasion   by   the    British   in  1779, 
234-238;    elects   Jefferson  as  gov 
ernor,  June    1,   1779,  239;    thanks 
Governor  Henry  for  his    services, 
240;    its  military  efficiency    under 
Henry's  direction,  240-241;  its  de 
ficient  public   spirit  in  1780,   244- 
245;  invaded   by  Arnold,    Phillips, 
and  Cornwallis  in    1781,   248-251  ; 
flight  of  its  legislature,  249-254  ;  the 
story  of  the   dictatorship  in   1781, 
254-256;    elects  Thomas  Nelson  as 
governor  in  1781,  254 ;   its  legisla 
tion  respecting  defeated   loyalists, 
foreign  commerce,  Indians  and  re 
ligious    bodies,    25G-2G2 ;     Henry's 
second  period  as  governor,  1784  to 
1786,  266;    grants  to    Washington 
shares  in  navigation  companies,  268- 
269 ;  thanks  Henry  for  his  services 
as  governor,  270;  its  opposition  to 
the   surrender  of    the  Mississippi, 
274-276,    278;    appoints    Henry   as 
delegate  to  Philadelphia  convention, 
276;   convention  called  to  consider 
new  federal  constitution,  280 ;   sit 
uation  of    parties    respecting    new 
constitution,  281-285  ;  its  decision, 
295-296  ;  division  of  parties  respect 
ing  new  constitution,  304-305  ;  zeal 
for  amendments  quickened  by  New 
York's  circular  letter,  307  ;  legisla 
ture  of  1788  adopts  Henry's  meas 
ures  for  securing  immediate  amend 
ments,  308-315 ;  its  appeal  to  con 
gress,  309-311 ;  its  first  two  senators, 
312 ;  the  first  victim  of  gerryman 
dering,  315 ;  its  legislature  submis 
sive  to  Henry,  314-315 ;  its  influence 
in  securing  first  ten  amendments, 
316-317 ;  its  relation  to  the  British 
debt  case,  320-321  ;  great  ability  of 
its  bar,  321  ;  spread  of  French  scep 
ticism  resisted  by  Henry,  350-351; 


elects  Henry  as  governor  in  1796, 
362 ;  resolutions  of  1798,  364  ;  alarm 
ing  condition  of,  in  1799,  364-365 ; 
368-370,  372-374. 

Walker,  ,  of  Virginia,  sent  by 

Henry  to  Washington  as  secret  mes 
senger,  209. 

Walker,  Thomas,  defendant  in  British 
debt  cause,  320. 

Ward,  Samuel,  member  first  conti 
nental  congress,  93  ;  speaks  in  sec 
ond  day's  debate,  100. 

Washington,  George,  88,  96,  273,  284, 
360,  362  ;  goes  with  Henry  and  Pen- 
dleton  to  first  continental  congress, 
90 ;  described  by.  Atkinson,  91 ;  on 
committee  for  arming  Virginia  mi 
litia,  134 ;  on  committee  to  encour 
age  arts  and  manufactures  in  Vir 
ginia,  134 ;  notified  by  his  companies 
of  their  readiness  to  march  against 
Dunmore,  138  ;  letter  from  Henry 
in  second  continental  congress, 
154 ;  thanked  by  Virginia  on  retire 
ment  from  her  service  in  congress, 
155 ;  doubts  Henry's  fitness  for  mil 
itary  service,  164;  military  move 
ments  in  summer  and  fall  of  1776, 
195 ;  letter  to  Henry  on  the  military 
situation,  195-196 ;  letter  from  Lan- 
don  Carter  sneering  at  Henry,  196- 
197  ;  described  as  a  dictator  in  1781, 
by  Edmund  Randolph  and  Henry, 
202-203;  situation  of  his  troops  in 
latter  part  of  1776,  203;  heartily 
supported  by  Henry,  208-211 ;  ex 
plains  to  Henry  his  reception  of 
secret  messenger,  208 ;  receives  from 
Henry  explanation  of  Virginia's 
backwardness  in  raising  troops, 
210-211  ;  his  military  history  latter 
half  of  1777,  213  ;  official  correspond- 
*  ence  with  Henry,  214  ;  the  Conway 
cabal,  215-223  ;  anonymous  letter  to 
Henry  against,  215-217 ;  receives 
two  letters  from  Henry  on  the  sub 
ject,  218-220 ;  writes  to  Henry  two 
letters  in  reply,  220-223;  deep 
friendship  for  Henry,  223-224 ;  R. 
H.  Lee  accused  of  favoring  Conway 
cabal,  225 ;  letters  from  Henry  re 
specting  military  situation  in  1779, 
234 ;  letters  to  Henry  in  praise  of  hia 
efficiency  and  help  as  governor,  240- 
241  ;  named  for  Virginia  dictator  in 
1781,  255 ;  correspondence  with 
Henry  respecting  shares  in  naviga 
tion  companies,  268-269 ;  Madison's 
letters  respecting  Henry's  hostility 
to  strengthening  the  confederation, 
276-277;  presides  over  convention 


398 


INDEX. 


of  1787,  279;  commends  new  con 
stitution  to  Henry,  and  Henry's 
reply,  279-280 ;  anxiety  over  Henry's 
opposition,  280,  282-283  ;  letter  irom 
Harrison  against  new  constitution, 
287 ;  gratification  on  account  of 
Henry's  pacific  assurance,  296-297  ; 
letter  from  Madison  respecting  Hen 
ry's  intended  agitation  for  amend 
ments,  306 ;  his  anxiety  on  the  sub 
ject,  306-307,  308  ;  receives  informa 
tion  respecting  Henry's  proceedings 
in  the  legislature,  308-30'J  ;  his  prob 
able  opinions  respecting  Henry's 
conduct  given  by  his  private  secre 
tary,  314-315 ;  his  administration  in 
harmony  with  Henry's  political 
views,  353-354 ;  his  reconciliation 
with  Henry,  355-358 ;  offers  Henry 
office  of  secretary  of  state,  358-359 ; 
also  office  of  chief  justice  of  United 
States,  359-360. 

Webster,  Daniel,  9,  20. 

Williamsburg,  capital  of  Virginia,  53, 
54  ;  meeting  of  Virginia  convention, 
August,  1774,  87-89 ;  involved  in  the 
affair  of  the  gunpowder,  138-144  ; 
governor's  palace  occupied  by  Hen 
ry,  189  ;  its  undefended  condition  in 
1776,  197. 

Wilson,  James,  216  ;  in  second  conti 
nental  congress,  152,  153. 

Wirt,  William,  his  opinion  as  to  Hen 
ry's  education,  13  ;  errors  respect 
ing  Henry's  legal  attainments  and 
practice,  24,  2(5 ;  describes  Henry's 
speech  in  the  Parsons'  Cause.  42 
46;  asserts  that  Henry's  opposition 
to  Stamp  Act  made  him  the  idol  of 
Virginians,  79;  his  mistaken  ac 
count  of  Henry's  standing  at  the 
'jar,  83-84  ;  his  description  of  first 


continental  congress  and  of  Hen 
ry's  part  in  it,  106-108;  misled  by 
testimony  of  Jefferson,  108-109 ;  his 
version  of  Henry's  speech  criticised, 
132-133 ;  his  pupilage  to  Jefferson, 
199;  account  of  Henry's  relation  to 
project  for  dictator  in  1776,  199- 
200;  prints  some  official  letters  of 
Henry,  214  note;  names  Henry  in 
connection  with  dictatorship  in 
1781,  254 ;  describes  Henry's  elo 
quence  in  convention  of  1788,  300- 
301  ;  his  opinion  of  the  bar  of  Vir 
ginia,  321  ;  describes  the  scene  of 
Henry's  first  argument  in  the  Brit 
ish  debt  cause,  322-324  ;  his  analysis 
of  Henry's  genius  and  methods  aa 
an  advocate  before  juries,  327-329 ; 
his  inaccurate  description  of  Hen 
ry's  religious  position,  349. 

Witherspoon,  John,  President  of  New 
Jersey  college,  94,  95;  teacher  of 
Madison,  168. 

Woodford,  General  William,  161; 
chosen  over  Henry  for  active  ser 
vice  in  the  field,  158  ;  wins  battle  of 
Great  Bridge,  158  ;  letter  from  com 
mittee  of  safety,  163. 

Wythe,  George,  82,  84 ;  one  of  Hen 
ry's  legal  examiners,  21  ;  on  com 
mittee  for  message  against  Stamp 
Act,  58  ;  opposes  Henry's  policy  on 
the  subject,  59,  63 ;  in  Virginia  con 
vention  of  1776,  168 ;  supports  Mad 
ison  in  convention  of  1788,  285. 

Young,  Captain  H.,  his  testimony  re 
specting  dictatorship  in  1781,  255. 

Zane,  Isaac,  on  committee  for  arming 
Virginia  militia,  134. 


American  Statesmen. 


A  Series  of  Biographies  of  Men  famous  in  the 

Political  History  of  the  United  States.     Edited  by 

JOHN  T.  MORSE,  Jr.     Each  volume,  i6mo, 

gilt  top,  $1.25;  half  morocco,  $2.50. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.    By  John  T.  Morse,  Jr. 
ALEXANDER  HAMILTON.  By  Henry  Cabot  Lodge. 
JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.    By  Dr.  H.  Von  Hoist. 
ANDREW  JACKSON.    By  W.  G.  Sumner. 
JOHN  RANDOLPH.     By  Henry  Adams. 
JAMES  MONROE.    By  D.  C.  Oilman. 
THOMAS  JEFFERSON.    By  John  T.  Morse,  Jr. 
DANIEL   WEBSTER.     By  Henry  Cabot  Lodge. 
ALBERT  GALL  A  TIN.     By  John  Austin  Stevens. 
JAMES  MADISON.     By  Sydney  Howard  Gay. 
JOHN  ADAMS.     By  John  T.  Morse,  Jr. 
JOHN  MARSHALL.     By  Allan  B.  Magruder. 
SAMUEL  ADAMS.     By  James  K.  Hosmer. 
THOMAS  H.  BENTON.    By  Theodore  Roosevelt. 
HENRY  CLA  Y.    By  Carl  Schurz.     2  vols. 
PA  TRICK  HENRY.     By  Moses  Coit  Tyler. 
GOUVERNEUR  MORRIS.     By  Theodore  Roosevelt. 
MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.     By  Edward  M.  Shepard. 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON.     By  H.  C.  Lodge.     2  vol& 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.     By  John  T.  Morse,  Jr. 
JOHN  JA  Y.    By  George  Pellew. 
LEWIS  CASS.     By  Andrew  C.  McLaughlin. 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.     By  J.  T.  Morse,  Jr.    2  vols. 
Others  to  be  announced  hereafter. 


CRITICAL   NOTICES. 


QUINCY  ADAMS. 

be  those  of  posterity  we  have  very  little  doubt,  and  he  has  set  an 
admirable  example  to  his  coadjutors  in  respect  of  interesting 
narrative,  just  proportion,  and  judicial  candor.  —  A  rew  York 
Evening  Post. 

Tne  biography  of  Mr.  Lodge  is  calm  and 
dignified  throughout.  He  has  the  virtue  — 
rare  indeed  among  biographers  —  of  impartiality.  lie  has  done 
his  work  with  conscientious  care,  and  the  biography  of  Ham 
ilton  is  a  book  which  cannot  have  too  many  readers.  It  is  more 
than  a  biography;  it  is  a  study  in  the  science  of  government.  — 
St.  Paul  Pioneer  Press. 

f*  *  r  Tjf)TTAT  Nothing  can  exceed  the  skill  with  which  the 
2V'  political  career  of  the  great  South  Carolinian 
is  portrayed  in  these  pages.  The  work  is  superior  to  any  other 
number  of  the  series  thus  far,  and  we  do  not  think  it  can  DC  sur 
passed  by  any  of  those  that  are  to  come.  The  whole  discussion 
in  relation  to  Calhoun's  position  is  eminently  philosophical  and 
just.  —  The  Dial  (Chicago). 

cyArjs-vr)  y  Professor  Sumner  has  ...  all  in  all,  made 
J^VZCA^CA  the  justest  long  estimate  of  Jackson  that  has 
had  itself  put  between  the  covers  of  a  book.  —  New  York 
Times. 

The  book  has  been  to  me  intensely  inter- 
. 


Jights,  and  is  worthy  of  its  place  in  the  already  brilliant  series 
of  monographs  on  American  Statesmen.  —  Prof.  MOSES  COIT 
TYLER. 

MONROF  ^n  c^earness  °f  style>  and  in  all  points  of  liter 
ary  workmanship,  from  cover  to  cover,  the 
volume  is  well-nigh  perfect.  There  are  also  a  calmness  of  judg 
ment,  a  correctness  of  taste,  and  an  absence  of  partisanship 
which  are  too  frequently  wanting  in  biographies,  and  especially 
in  political  biographies.  —  American  Literary  Churchman  (Bal 
timore). 

The  book  is  exceedingly  interesting  and 
readable      The  attentior{  of  the  reabder  is 

strongly  seized  at  once,  and  he  is  carried  along  in  spite  of  him 
self,  sometimes  protesting,  sometimes  doubting,  yet  unable  to  lay 
the  book  down.  —  Chicago  Standard. 

II  wil1  be  read  bv  students  of  history  ;  it  will 
be   inva]uab]e   as   a  work   Of   reference;    it 

will  be  an  authority  as  regards  matters  of  fact  and  criticism  ;  it 

hits  the  keynote  of  Webster's  durable  and  ever  growing  fame  ; 

it  is  adequate,  calm,  impartial  ;   it  is  admirable.  —  Philadelphia 

Press. 


si  A  T  TA  Ty^y  It  is  one  of  the  most  carefully  prepared  of 
these  very  valuable  volumes,  .  .  .  abound 
ing  in  information  not  so  readily  accessible  as  is  that  pertaining 
to  men  more  often  treated  by  the  biographer.  .  .  .  The  whole 
work  covers  a  ground  which  the  political  student  cannot  afford 
to  neglect.  —  Boston  Correspondent  Hartford  Cotirant. 

T\/T  A  n  /"?/")  AT      The  execution  of  the  work  deserves  the  high 
est  praise.     It  is  very  readable,  in  a  bright 
and  vigorous  style,  and  is  marked  by  unity  and  consecutiveness 
of  plan.  —  The  Nation  (New  York). 

A  good  piece  of  literary  work.  ...  It 
co^rs    £^  ground    t£croughly>  and 

gives  just  the  sort  of  simple  and  succinct  account  that  is  wanted. 
—  Evening  Post  (New  York). 

K/r  A  j?  <2H'A  T  T       Well  done,  with  simplicity,  clearness,  pre 
cision,  and   judgment,  and   in   a  spirit   of 

moderation  and  equity.  A  valuable  addition  to  the  series.  — 
New  York  Tribune. 

^A  MTIFL  ADAMS      Thoroughly  appreciative  and  sym 
pathetic,  yet  fair  and  critical    .  .  . 

This  biography  is  a  piece  of  good  work  —  a  clear  and  simple 
presentation  of  a  noble  man  and  pure  patriot ;  it  is  written  in  a 
spirit  of  candor  and  humanity.  —  Worcester  Spy. 

ft  7?  WTO  AT  -^n  interesting  addition  to  our  political  liter 
ature,  and  will  be  of  great  service  if  it  spread 
an  admiration  for  that  austere  public  morality  which  was  one  of 
the  marked  characteristics  of  its  chief  figure.  —  The  Epoch 
(New  York). 

We  have  in  this  life  of  Henry  Clay  a  biography  of 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  American  states 
men,  and  a  political  history  of  the  United  States  for  the  first 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  each  of  these  important  and 
difficult  undertakings,  Mr.  Schurzhas  been  eminently  successful. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that,  for  the  period  covered, 
we  have  no  other  book  which  equals  or  begins  to  equal  this  life 
of  Henry  Clay  as  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  American  pol 
itics. —  Political  Science  Quarterly  (New  York). 

Pr°fessor  Tyler  has  not  only  made  one  of  the 
best  and  most  readable  of  American  biographies  ; 
he  may  fairly  be  said  to  have  reconstructed  the  life  of  Patrick 
Henry,  and  to  have  vindicated  the  memory  of  that  great  man 
from  the  unappreciative  and  injurious  estimate  which  has  been 
placed  upon  it.  —  New  York  Evening  Post. 

MORRIS  ^r'  R°osevelt  has  produced  an  animated  and 
intensely  interesting  biographical  volume.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Roosevelt  never  loses  sight  of  the  picturesque  background 
of  politics,  war -governments,  and  diplomacy.  —  Magazine  oj 
American  History  (New  York). 


ft  TTRR N  ^°  more  generous,  appreciative,  or  just 
biography,  and  no  more  interesting  or 
philosophical  piece  of  political  history  has  appeared  in  this  valu 
able  series  .  .  .  than  this  absorbing  book.  .  .  .  To  give  any  ad 
equate  idea  of  the  personal  interest  of  the  book,  or  its  intimate 
bearing  on  nearly  the  whole  course  of  our  political  history  would 
be  equivalent  to  quoting  the  larger  part  of  it. — Brooklyn  Eagle, 

WASHINGTON      ^r'  Lodge  has  written   an  admirable 
biography,  and  one  which  cannot  but 

confirm  the  American  people  in  the  prevailing  estimate  concern 
ing  the  Father  of  his  Country;  but  its  deepest  and  most  impor 
tant  significance  appears  to  us  to  consist  in  its  testimony  to  the 
exaltation  and  the  uniqueness  of  a  character  whose  like  comes 
seldom  to  the  world,  and  only  in  periods  of  great  stress  and  cri 
sis. —  New  York  Tribune. 

FRANKLIN      ^e   ^as  manage<^  to   condense   the  whole 
mass   of   matter  gleaned   from  all   sources 

into  his  volume  without  losing  in  a  single  sentence  the  freedom 
or  lightness  of  his  style  or  giving  his  book  in  any  part  the 
crowded  look  of  an  epitome.  He  has  plenty  of  time  and  plenty 
of  room  for  all  he  wishes  to  say,  and  says  it  in  the  very  best  and 
most  interesting  manner. —  The  Independent  (New  York). 

JA  Y.  In  his  long  career  —  as  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  President  of  Congress,  member  of  the  Con 
stitutional  Convention,  Foreign  Secretary,  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States,  governor  of  New  York,  Minister  to  Spain,  spe 
cial  envoy  to  England  —  no  breath  of  suspicion  or  doubt  attached 
to  his  fame.  ...  It  is  an  important  addition  to  the  admirable 
series  of  "  American  Statesmen,"  and  elevates  yet  higher  the 
character  of  a  man  whom  all  American  patriots  must  delight  to 
honor.  —  New  York  Tribune. 

CASS.  Professor  McLaughlin  has  given  us  one  of  the  most 
satisfactory  volumes  in  this  able  and  important  series. 
It  ought  to  be  read  in  the  East  as  well  as  the  West,  but  in  the 
Northwest  it  ought  to  be  read  in  every  hamlet  from  Detroit 
to  Puget  Sound.  The  early  life  of  Cass  was  devoted  to  the 
Northwest,  and  in  the  transformation  which  overtook  it  the 
work  of  Cass  was  the  work  of  a  national  statesman.  —  New  York 
l^imes. 

LINCOLN.      Asa  Life  of  Lincoln  it  has  no  competitors  ;  as 
a  political  history  of  the  Union  side  during  the 
Civil  War,  it  is  the  most  comprehensive,  and,  in  proportion  to 
its  range,  the  most  compact.  — Harvard  Graduates'  Magazine. 


***  For  Sale  by  all  Booksellers.     Sent,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of 
price  by  the  Publishers, 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND    COMPANY, 
4  PARK  ST.,  BOSTON;  n  EAST  I/TH  ST.,  NEW  YORK. 


American  jJficn  of  JLetterjs. 

Edited  by  Charles  Dudley  Warner. 


WASHINGTON     IRVING.      By    Charles    Dudley 

Warner,  author  of  "  In  the  Levant,"  etc. 

NOAH  WEBSTER.     By  Horace  E.  Scudder,  author 

of  "  Stories  and   Romances/'   "  A  History  of  the  United  States  of 
America,"  etc. 

HENRY    D.    THOREAU.     By  Frank  B.  Sanborn. 
GEORGE  RIPLEY.     By  Octavius  Brooks  Frothing- 

ham,  author  of  "  Transcendentalism  in  New  England." 

JAMES    FENIMORE    COOPER.      By  Thomas  R. 

Lounsbury,  Professor  of  English  in  the  Scientific  School  of  Yale  Col 
lege. 

MARGARET     FULLER     OSSOLI.      By    Thomas 

Wentworth  Higginson,  author  of  "  Malbone,"  "Oldport  Days,"  etc. 

RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON.     By  Oliver  Wendell 

Holmes,  author  of  "  The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast-Table,"  etc. 

EDGAR  ALLAN  POE.     By  George  E.  Woodberry, 

author  of  "  Studies  in  Life  and  Letters,"  etc. 

NATHANIEL    PARKER  WILLIS.     By  Henry  A. 

Beers,  Professor  of  English  Literature  in  Yale  College. 

BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN.     By  John  Bach  McMas- 

ter,  author  of  "  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States." 

WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT.    By  John  Bigelow, 

author  of  "  Molinos  the  Quietist,"  etc. 

WILLIAM  GILMORE   SIMMS.       By  William   P. 

Trent,   Professor   of   English  Literature  in  the  University  of   the 
South,  Sewanee,  Tenn. 

Other  -volumes  to  be  announced  hereafter.     Each   volume,  -with 
Portrait,  ibmo,  gilt  top,  $7.23;  half  morocco,  $2.50. 

HOUGHTON,    MIFFLIN   AND    COMPANY, 
4  PARK  ST.,  BOSTON  ;  11  EAST  I;TH  ST.,  NEW  YORK. 


"WASHINGTON    IRVING." 

Mr.  Warner  has  not  only  written  with  sympathy,  mi 
nute  knowledge  of  his  subject,  fine  literary  taste,  and  that 
easy,  fascinating  style  which  always  puts  him  on  such 
good  terms  with  his  readers,  but  he  has  shown  a  tact 
critical  sagacity,  and  sense  of  proportion  full  of  promise 
for  the  rest  of  the  series  which  is  to  pass  under  his 
supervision. — New  York  Tribune. 

It  is  a  very  charming  piece  of  literary  work,  and  pre« 
bents  the  reader  with  an  excellent  picture  of  Irving  as  a 
man  and  of  his  methods  as  an  author,  together  with  ar 
accurate  and  discriminating  characterization  of  his  works 
—  Boston  Journal. 

It  would  hardly  be  possible  to  produce  a  fairer  or  more 
candid  book  of  its  kind. — Literary  World  (London). 

"NOAH    WEBSTER." 

Mr.  Scudder's  biography  of  Webster  is  alike  honorable 
to  himself  and  its  subject.  Finely  discriminating  in  all 
that  relates  to  personal  and  intellectual  character,  schol 
arly  and  just  in  its  literary  criticisms,  analyses,  ami 
estimates,  it  is  besides  so  kindly  and  manly  in  its  tone,  its 
narrative  is  so  spirited  and  enthralling,  its  descriptions 
are  so  quaintly  graphic,  so  varied  and  cheerful  in  their 
coloring,  and  its  pictures  so  teem  with  the  bustle,  the 
movement,  and  the  activities  of  the  real  life  of  a  by-gone 
but  most  interesting  age,  that  the  attention  of  the  reader 
rs  never  tempted  to  wander,  and  he  lays  down  the  book 
with  a  sigh  of  regret  for  its  brevity.  — Harper's  Monthly 
Magazine. 

It  fills  completely  its  place  in  the  purpose  of  this  se 
ries  of  volumes.  —  The  Critic  (New  York). 

"HENRY    D.    THOREAU." 

Mr.  Sanborn 's  book  is  thoroughly  American  and  truly 
fascinating.  Its  literary  skill  is  exceptionally  good,  and 
there  is  a  racy  flavor  in  its  pages  and  an  amount  of  exact 
knowledge  of  interesting  people  that  one  seldom  meets 
with  in  current  literature.  Mr.  Sanborn  has  done  Tho- 
reau's  genius  an  imperishable  service.  — American  Church 
Review  (New  York). 

Mr.  Sanborn  has  written  a  careful  book  about  a  curious 
man,  whom  he  has  studied   as  impartially  as   possible 
whom  he  admires  warmly  but  with  discretion ;  and  the 
story  of  whose  life  he  has  told  with  commendable  frank 
ness  and  simplicity. — New  York  Mail  and  Express. 

It  is  undoubtedly  the  best  life  of  Thorcau  extant. — 
Christian  Advocate  (New  YorkX 


"GEORGE    RIPLEY." 

He  has  fulfilled  his  responsible  task  with  admirable 
fidelity,  frank  earnestness,  justice,  fine  feeling,  balanced 
moderation,  delicate  taste,  and  finished  literary  skill.  It 
is  a  beautiful  tribute  to  the  high-bred  scholar  and  gener 
ous-hearted  man,  whose  friend  he  has  so  worthily  por 
trayed. —  Rev.  William  H.  dimming  (London). 


"JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER." 
We  have  here  a  model  biography.  The  book  is  charm 
ingly  written,  with  a  felicity  and  vigor  of  diction  that  are 
notable,  and  with  a  humor  sparkling,  racy,  and  never 
obtrusive.  The  story  of  the  life  will  have  something  of 
the  fascination  of  one  of  the  author's  own  romances.  — • 
New  York  Tribune. 

Prof.  Lcunsbury's  book  is  an  admirable  specimen  of 
literary  biography.  .  .  .  We  can  recall  no  recent  addition 
to  American  biography  in  any  department  which  is  supe 
rior  to  it.  It  gives  the  reader  not  merely  a  full  account 
of  Cooper's  literary  career,  but  there  is  mingled  with  this 
a  sufficient  account  of  the  man  himself  apart  from  his 
books,  and  of  the  period  in  which  he  lived,  to  keep 
alive  the  interest  from  the  first  word  to  the  last.  —  New 
York  Evening  Post.  

"MARGARET  FULLER  OSSOLI." 
Here  at  last  we  have  a  biography  of  one  of  the  noblest 
and  the  most  intellectual  of  American  women,  which  does 
full  justice  to  its  subject.  The  author  has  had  ample 
material  for  his  work,  —  all  the  material  now  available 
perhaps,  —  and  has  shown  the  skill  of  a  master  in  his 
use  of  it.  .  .  .  It  is  a  fresh  view  of  the  subject,  and  adds 
important  information  to  that  already  given  to  the  public 
—  REV.  DR.  F.  H.  HEDGE,  in  Boston  Advertiser. 

"RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON." 
Dr.  Holmes  has  written  one  of  the  most  delightful 
biographies  that  has  ever  appeared.  Every  page  sparkles 
with  genius.  His  criticisms  are  trenchant,  his  analysis 
clear,  his  sense  of  proportion  delicate,  and  his  sympa 
thies  broad  and  deep.  —  Philadelphia  Press. 

"EDGAR    ALLAN    POE." 

Mr.  Woodberry  has  contrived  with  vast  labor  to  con 
struct  what  must  hereafter  be  called  the  authoritative 
biography  of  Poe,  a  biography  which  corrects  all  others, 
supplements  all  others,  and  supersedes  all  others.  —  The 
Critic  (New  York). 


"NATHANIEL  PARKER  WILLIS." 
Prof.  Beers  has  clone  his  work  sympathetically  yet  can- 
didly  and  fairly  and  in  a  philosophic  manner,  indicating 
the  status  occupied  by  Willis  in  the  republic  of  letters, 
and  sketching  graphically  his  literary  environment  and 
the  main  springs  of  his  success.  It  is  one  of  the  best 
'oooks  of  an  excellent  series.  —  Buffalo  Times. 

"BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  instructive  volumes 
of  the  series.  .  .  .  The  pictures  which  are  given  of  the 
momentous  period  in  which  he  lived  are  full  of  vigor, 
and  betray  an  astonishing  amount  of  research  in  many 
directions.  —  Boston  Gazette. 

We  have  had  many  lives  of  Franklin,  but  none  so  ab 
solutely  impartial  as  this,  and  although  it  is  short  it  omits 
no  important  fact  that  can  help  to  reveal  the  man.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Me  Master  tells  his  story  with  extreme  charm  of 
narration.  —  Hartford  Courant. 


"WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT." 
There  were  many  aspects  in  which  Mr.  Bryailt  pre 
sented  himself  as  a  subject  for  biography.  He  was  a  chief 
in  the  department  of  American  journalism.  He  was  a 
controlling  power  in  American  politics.  He  was  also  a 
man  of  letters  in  the  pure  and  simple  sense  of  the  term. 
One  might  have  known  him  well  in  either  of  these  rela 
tions  and  yet  had  no  thought  of  the  others.  Mr.  Bige- 
low  has,  it  seems  to  us,  done  justice  to  all.  —  The  Church 
man  (New  York). 


"WILLIAM  GILMORE  SIMMS." 
As  a  biography  it  will  rank  with  the  best  in  the  series. 
It  is  clear  in  style,  full  in  statement  of  fact,  impartial, 
discriminating  and  critical,  and  at  the  same  time  gener 
ous  and  sympathetic.  Professor  Trent  has  performed  a 
difficult  task  with  rare  discretion  and  good  taste.  —  Chris 
tian  Union  (New  York). 

*#*  For  sale   by  all   Booksellers.     Sent,  post-paid,  on   receipt 
of  price  by  the  Publishers, 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND   COMPANY, 
BOSTON   AND   NEW   YORK. 


American  Commonwealths, 

EDITED   BY 

HORACE   E.  SCUDDER. 

A  series   of   Histories  of   the   representative  Common 
wealths  of  the  United  States. 

VIRGINIA.     A  History  of  the  People.     By  JOHN  ESTEN 

•    COOKE,  author  of  "  Life  of  Stonewall  Jackson,"  etc. 

OREGON.  The  Struggle  for  Possession.  By  WILLIAM 
BARROWS,  D.  D. 

MARYLAND.  The  History  of  a  Palatinate.  By  WIL 
LIAM  HAND  BROWNE,  Associate  of  Johns  Hopkins  University. 

KENTUCKY.  A  Pioneer  Commonwealth.  By  NATHANIEL 
S.  SHALER,  S.  D.,  Professor  of  Palaeontology,  Harvard  University. 

MICHIGAN.  A  History  of  Governments.  By  THOMAS 
MclNTYRE  COOLEY,  LL.  D.,  formerly  Chief  Justice  of  Michigan. 

KANSAS.  The  Prelude  to  the  War  for  the  Union.  By 
LEVERETT  W.  SPRING,  formerly  Professor  in  English  Literature 
in  the  University  of  Kansas. 

CALIFORNIA.  From  the  Conquest  in  1846  to  the  Second 
Vigilance  Committee  in  San  Francisco.  By  JOSIAII  ROYCE,  for 
merly  Professor  in  the  University  of  California. 

NEW  YORK.  The  Planting  and  the  Growth  of  the  Em 
pire  State.  By  the  Hon.  ELLIS  H.  ROBERTS,  author  of  "  Govern 
ment  Revenue."  In  two  volumes. 

CONNECTICUT.  A  Study  of  a  Commonwealth-Dem 
ocracy.  By  Professor  ALEXANDER  JOHNSTON,  author  of  "  Amer 
ican  Politics." 

MISSOURI.  A  Bone  of  Contention.  By  LUCIEN  CARR, 
M.  A.,  Assistant  Curator  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Archaeology. 

INDIANA.  A  Redemption  from  Slavery.  By  J.  P. 
DUNN,  Jr.,  author  of  "  Massacres  of  the  Mountains." 

OHIO.  First-Fruits  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  By  Hon. 
RUFUS  KING. 

VERMONT.  A  Study  of  Independence.  By  ROWLAND 
E.  ROBINSON. 

In  Preparation. 

NEW  JERSEY.  By  AUSTIN  SCOTT,  Ph.  D.,  Professor 
of  History,  etc.,  in  Rutgers  College. 

ILLINOIS.     By  E.  G.  MASON. 

Other  Volumes  to  be  announced  hereafter.      Each  volume, 
with  Map,  l&mo.  ailt  top. 


PRESS  NOTICES. 


"  VIRGINIA." 

Mr.  Cooke  has  made  a  fascinating  volume  —  one  which  it  will  be 
rery  difficult  to  surpass  cither  in  method  or  interest.  If  all  the  vol 
umes  of  the  series  ["American  Commonwealths"]  come  up  to  the 
level  of  this  one  —  in  interest,  in  broad  tolerance  of  spirit,  and  iu  a 
thorough  comprehension  of  what  is  best  worth  telling  —  a  very  great 
service  will  have  been  done  to  the  reading  public.  True  historic  in 
sight  appears  through  all  these  pages,  and  an  earnest  desire  to  do  all 
parties  and  religions  perfect  justice.  The  story  of  the  settlement  of 
Virginia  is  told  in  full.  ...  It  is  made  as  interesting  as  a  romance. 
-  The  Critic  (New  York). 

"OREGON." 

The  long  and  interesting  story  of  the  struggle  of  five  nations  for 
the  possession  of  Oregon  is  told  in  the  graphic  and  reliable  narrative 
of  William  Barrows.  ...  A  more  fascinating  record  has  seldom  been 
written.  .  .  .  Careful  research  and  pictorial  skill  of  narrative  commend 
this  book  of  antecedent  history  to  all  interested  in  the  rapid  march  and 
wonderful  development  of  our  American  civilization  upon  the  Pacific 
coast.  —  Springfield  Republican. 

"MARYLAND." 

With  great  care  and  labor  he  has  sought  out  and  studied  original 
documents.  By  the  aid  of  these  he  is  able  to  give  his  work  a  value 
and  interest  that  would  have  been  impossible  had  he  followed  slav 
ishly  the  commonly  accepted  authorities  on  his  subject.  His  investi 
gation  in  regard  to  toleration  in  Maryland  is  particularly  noticeable. 
—  Nfw  Ycrk  Evenimj  Post. 

"KENTUCKY." 

The  author  of  it  is  admirably  qualified  to  give  us  the  history  of  the 
State  of  which  he  is  a  native,  to  the  scientific  examination  of  wbicb 
he  has  given  his  eminent  professional  service,  and  of  whose  popula 
tion  he  is  proud  because  of  tbe  heroic  and  manly  qualities  it  has  mani 
fested  in  many  crises  of  its  public  affairs.  —  Christian  Register  (Bos 
ton). 


"MICHIGAN." 

Other  States  cover  only  special  lines,  as  it  were,  of  political  history ; 
Michigan  seems  to  have  covered  the  whole,  and  hence  furnishes  an 
admirable  field  for  a  history  of  governments.  More  fortunate  still, 
she  has  in  Judge  Cooley  a  man  of  great  and  acknowledged  ability, 
learning,  and  authority  upon  all  such  themes.  .  .  .  From  its  distin 
guished  author,  but  even  more  from  its  profoundly  valuable  subject- 
matter,  this  is  a  work  to  repay  abundantly  the  diligent  study  of  all 
our  citizens.  —  The  Literary  World. 

"KANSAS." 

Few,  even  of  actual  participants  in  the  Kansas  struggle,  have  so 
complete  a  knowledge  of  it  that  they  cannot  learn  something  from 
this  narrative.  Professor  Spring  has  been  diligent  in  research  to  a 
degree  that  merits  special  praise,  and  his  diligence  has  been  inspired 
and  controlled  by  method,  so  that  it  has  borne  rich  fruits. —  The  Ex 
aminer  (New  York). 

"CALIFORNIA" 

The  study  is  one  of  sociological  changes,  never  before  known  be 
cause  the  sociological  conditions  have  never  before  existed  in  history,, 
The  problem  is  new  and  most  fascinating.  Every  facet  of  it  has  a 
distinct  light.  Professor  Royce  has  turned  it  round  and  round,  hac 
received  its  various  lights,  and  has  cast  upon  it  some  of  his  own. 
,  „  .  The  style  is  as  breezy  as  varied.  —  San  Francisco  Bulletin. 

"NEW  YORK." 

The  field  occupied,  embracing  so  much  time  and  such  variety  of  inci 
dent,  such  extent  of  territory  fought  over  and  contended  for  by  so 
many  different  races,  so  complete  development  of  industrial  and  com 
mercial  interest,  with  all  the  institutions  of  social  and  civil  life  grow 
ing  up  among  a  mixed  and  shifting  population,  requires  that  the 
historian  have  a  full  and  firm  grasp  upon  his  subject,  as  a  whole  and 
in  its  details,  that  he  may  preserve  harmony  and  proportion  through 
out.  This  requisite  the  author  had,  and  his  book  is  admirable  in  the 
just  prominence  given  to  the  several  topics  according  to  their  impor 
tance  to  the  story  as  a  whole.  —  Boston  Transcript. 


"CONNEVMlCU'A. 

The  most  interesting  portions  of  Professor  Johnston's  valuable  and 
spirited  volume  are  those  which  demonstrate  the  precedence  of  Connec 
ticut  in  the  establishment  of  the  democratic  principle  of  government 
which  now  makes  the  essential  feature  of  the  American  plan,  and 
those  which  exhibit  the  influence  of  the  Connecticut  town-system  in 
the  development  of  our  national  theory  of  local  self-rule  combined 
with  federal  authority.  In  the  prominence  given  to  these  important 
points  the  author  shows  an  appreciation  not  only  of  the  intrinsic 
character  of  his  subject  but  of  the  best  uses  of  the  excellent  and  well 
edited  series  in  which  his  book  takes  a  high  place.  —  New  York  Tribune. 

It  is  one  of  the  best  volumes  of  a  series,  the  value  of  which  as  a 
source  of  information  and  instruction,  and  as  studies  in  the  history 
and  development  of  political  economy  in  this  new  world,  cannot  be 
estimated  too  highly. —  The  Christian  at  Work  (New  York). 

"MISSOURI." 

Five  of  his  seventeen  chapters  give  a  luminous  picture  of  the  early 
French  and  Spanish  discoveries  and  domination.  Then  follow  three 
chapters  treating  of  the  Territory,  the  Compromise,  and  the  admission 
into  the  Union  of  this  State.  Jn  his  treatment  of  the  period  from 
1844  to  1861,  as  well  as  that  of  war  time,  some  readers  may  charge 
Mr.  Carr  with  unduly  favoring  the  Southern  and  even  Confeder 
ate  view ;  but  to  people  living  this  side  of  the  now  vanished  Mason 
and  Dixon's  line  this  is  doubtless  a  benefit ;  for  only  when  Northern 
people  are  able  to  put  themselves  in  the  place  of  Southerners  and 
see  with  Southern  eyes,  can  they  be  sure  that  they  have  achieved 
that  impartiality  which  is  essential  to  the  writing  of  final  history. 
.  .  .  Taken  as  a  whole,  this  book,  with  its  sustained  interest,  high 
average  literary  merit,  and  thorough  treatment  of  the  voluminous 
facts,  fully  justifies  its  place  in  the  series.  —  The  Critic  (New  York). 

There  is  not  a  page  in  this  book  that  should  be  skipped,  and  for  a 
calm,  judicial  survey  of  questions  that  excited  the  country  from  one 
end  to  the  other,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  its  superior.  —  Boston 
Gazette, 

"INDIANA." 

Though  the  author  has  made  this  redemption  from  slavery  the  cen 
tral  thing  in  his  book,  he  has  by  no  means  limited  himself  to  this 
topic.  He  has  collected  a  large  amount  of  curious,  rare,  and  delight 
ful  information  concerning  the  primitive,  intermediate,  and  later  set 
tlement  of  the  State,  and  set  it  forth  with  a  critical  thoroughness  which 
is  worthy  of  Mr.  Parkman  himself.  —  The  Independent  (New  York). 

An  extremely  interesting  and  valuable  book.  —  Christian  Union 
(New  York*. 


w  OHIO:'' 

Mr.  King's  field  of  effort  and  influence  made  him  a  close  witness  of 
all  phases  of  the  growth  of  Ohio  for  fifty  years.  With  these  qualifi 
cations  Mr.  King  could  not  write  on  Ohio  without  giving  uncommon 
interest,  weight,  arid  valuable  suggestions  to  the  subject.  We  find  in 
his  book,  even  more  than  we  expected,  historical  breadth  and  clear 
ness,  and  wise,  enlightened  comment.  —  Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette. 

One  of  the  most  satisfactory  numbers  in  that  excellent  series  of 
American  Commonwealths.  The  State  has  a  history  of  more  than 
ordinary  importance  and  interest.  In  this  volume  its  story  is  told  in 
a  clear  and  eliective  manner.  —  Boston  Transcript. 

The  book  is  full  of  charming  episodes  that  shed  fascinating  side 
lights  on  the  main  theme,  which  is  discussed  with  dignity  and  power. 
The  Critic  (New  York). 

«  VERMONT." 

The  circumstances  in  which  Vermont  became  a  State  make  its  his 
tory  particularly  interesting.  .  .  .  Not  only  does  Mr.  Robinson  write 
of  great  State  events,  but  of  those  smaller  domestic,  social,  and  eco 
nomic  features  of  human  life,  in  which  the  real  history  of  the  peo 
ple  was  made.  In  this  way  he  constructs  two  or  three  chapters  that 
are  quite  as  interesting  as  those  headed  "  Ticonderoga,"  "  Ben- 
nington,"  or  "  The  Highway  of  War."  It  is  a  brightly  written,  clear, 
and  interesting  volume.  —  New  York  Times, 

Some  of  the  very  best,  at  least  the  most  entertaining  pages  picture 
the  early  life  in  the  State,  —  the  weaving  and  spinning,  the  huskiug- 
bees,  the  sugaring  off,  etc., — which  takes  us  back  to  a  time  that  now 
seems  as  remote  as  the  prehistoric  period.  —  Portland  Transcript. 

IIOUGIITON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO.,   BOSTON. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recalL 


NOV  2  7  1965  5 


REC'D 


-PM- 


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MAR  15  1983       - 


i  circ.  MAR  1  8  1983 


General  Library 
LD  2lA-60m-3,'65  University  of  California 

(F2336slO)476B  Berkeley 


YB  37697 


M107317, 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


